The Black Swordsman: To Protect Those He Loves
by Gaim no Kaze
Summary: He was an orphan, he knew nothing of his origins, but he found a family, he found something to fight for. Destiny played against him, but he would fight for them no matter what, even if it costs him his life. Kirito harem (Asuna, Sinon, Suguha, Hikari) no flaming please. Current arc - Underworld Arc
1. Chapter 1 (06-14 07:44:44)

Hello!!! So, as I promised in my other stories, here is the SAO/Naruto fic I promised. A disclaimer, I do not own Naruto or SAO, or else I would be rich as fuck and would not need to write this here.

But I looked through the archives for the SAO/Naruto fics, and I just thought what about instead of Naruto in the SAO world, how about the other way around? So that idea came and here is it.

So yeah, just a warning, this story will contain some bashing. It will contain a council, and it will be a harem with Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and FemNaru... only these four, no more additions. So if you don't like it, leave the page, I don't want meaningless flaming. Any meaningless flames will be ignored if not removed. You have been warned.

Anyways, lets get started.

XXX

A young boy with black hair laid on the grass under the tree. He wore a simple shirt and shorts. Everyday, when the orphanage let the children out to play, the young boy would always lay down under the tree and look at the sky.

No one ever questioned it, they just left him there. The boy didn't care either. For as long as he knew, he had been living in the orphanage. No one ever bothered to talk to him, even the caretakers never really talked to him much and only gave him the necessary help with education, food and so on.

The boy had only willingly talked to the caretakers to ask about how he came to the orphanage. They told him he was found in a basket, with a small paper with the word 'Kirito' written on it. His name, Kirito.

Kirito had accepted the answer and went back to his bed. The boy didn't care much, but he couldn't deny he was curious where he came from.

Now, the five year old boy laid there watching the clouds. He didn't envy the other kids with their friends, he didn't envy that they could play around, because he didn't feel like it.

But that all changed one day. As the boy laid on his usual spot, a voice broke him from his thoughts, "Hey, why are you alone?"

The boy turned to see a girl with auburn hair looking at him. Beside the girl were two other girls, one has short black hair and the other with dark brown hair.

Kirito slowly sat up and answered, "Because its quiet here."

The girl blinked and nodded before she beamed at the boy, "I'm Asuna, do you want to play with us?"

Kirito blinked, this was a first for him. No one had even asked to play with them. The girls beside Asuna spoke, the black haired girl said, "I'm Suguha, this is Sinon, what's your name?"

Kirito stood up and answered, "Kirito."

After that day, Kirito was rarely seen alone. The young boy would always play with the three girls everytime they were allowed outside. The girls also stuck with Kirito in the orphanage, which slightly surprised Kirito to find out that they were orphans like he was.

A few weeks later, Kirito, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha were playing in the playground as usual. As they ran around, Kirito noticed a blonde girl with twintails crying.

The boy walked over, to the confusion of the three girls as to why the boy suddenly stopped playing. Kirito gently nudged the girl, "Hey, why are you crying?"

The girl looked up to see Kirito's kind smiling face and sobbed, "No one wants to play with me."

Kirito knelt down, "Why?"

The girl continued to cry, "I don't know..."

Kirito stood up and grinned "Then we'll play with you!"

The girl looked at him with a small glimmer of hope in her eyes, "Really?"

Kirito grinned and nodded, extending a hand, "Of course! I'm Kirito, what's your name?"

The girl slowly grabbed his hand and stood up, "My name... my name is Uzumaki Hikari."

After that meeting, Hikari joined them to play every evening. The four children were also delighted to find out that Hikari stayed at the orphanage.

Everytime they had breakfast, lunch or dinner, the five of them would have them together and they enjoyed every second of it even if the caretakers treated Hikari badly.

Now, the four girls and one boy played tag in the playgrounds. Hikari yelled, "Come back here, Kirito-kun!"

The boy laughed, "We're playing tag! I'm supposed to run!"

Asuna, Suguha and Sinon laughed as they kept clear of Hikari. The other kids payed them not much heed as they were busy playing amongst themselves.

As they played, a group of girls walked over. One of them said, "Hey, you four should stop playing with her."

Sinon frowned, "Why should we do that?"

Another of the group of girls said, "My mom said she is bad and she is a demon. So we should all stay away from her."

Hikari looked down sadly as Suguha glared at them slightly, "But Hikari-chan isn't bad!"

Another girl spoke, "We're just telling you that you should stay away from her."

Asuna frowned and said, "But we want to play with her, so you can leave us alone."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, we chose to play with her. Just leave us alone."

The group of girls shifted uncomfortably slightly and just left, not wanting to cause trouble.

As the group left, Hikari looked at her four friends, "Did you really mean that?"

Asuna looked at the blonde and smiled, "Of course, we're friends after all."

The blonde Uzumaki could pnly burst into tears of joy as her four friends hugged her.

After that event, Hikari's friendship with Kirito, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha strengthened greatly to the point where the last Uzumaki always stuck by them.

A year later, the five kids were six. The caretakers had realized that Kirito, Suguha, Sinon and Asuna were all quite attached to Hikari and had dubbed the four as 'Demon Lovers'. As such, even though the four didn't receive any change in treatment, it was quite obvious that the adults were not happy with the four of them.

The Hokage would sometimes visit the orphanage, mostly to visit Hikari. The old Sarutobi was delighted to see that the girl had made four good friends and hoped that their friendship would hold strong.

But one day, everything changed. The five of them were outside at the playground. They were resting under a tree after playing.

As they sat there, Suguha asked, "Hey, you all have dreams?"

Kirito blinked, "Dreams?"

Suguha nodded smiling, "Yeah, I want to be a kunoichi. So I can protect all of us. What about you guys?"

Hikari beamed and pointed a fist at the Hokage Monument, "I want to be the first female Hokage! That way everyone will respect me!"

Asuna smiled softly and said, "Mine is the same as Suguha-chan. I want to protect our family. The five of us."

Sinon nodded, "Me too. So all of us will be kunoichi?"

Hikari beamed, "That'd be so cool! We can study in the academy in the same class then! But Kirito-kun, what's your dream?"

Kirito laid down and looked at the sky, "Dreams, huh? I don't know yet, I haven't really decided yet."

Asuna smiled, "Well, you will get one someday."

Hikari nodded, "Yeah. So, what do you want to do now?"

Sinon let out a breath and said, "Well, its getting late, we should get back."

The other four nodded and stood up as they ran back to the orphanage. But when they reached the entrance, the caretaker, a young woman glared at them coldly as she stood at the door and blocked them.

The woman said coldly, "I've tolerated all of your existences long enough. You demon and demon lovers should just stay out, you can live by yourselves now."

Kirito blinked, "What? Why?"

The woman glared at them, "You should have asked yourselves that when you destroyed our village, especially you, demon."

She glared at Hikari and slammed the door closed, shutting the five of them out. Kirito immediately banged the door and yelled, "Hey! Open the door!"

The woman's angry voice came at them, "Get lost, demons!"

Kirito continued to bang the door, but no reply came this time. Then, to make things worse, it started to rain. Kirito sighed and looked at the girls, looking for an answer, but he only saw them with sad faces, almost on the verge of crying.

Hikari looked down, "Gommenasai, because of me, you all were kicked out."

Asuna grabbed the blonde's hand, "No, they are just stupid. Don't blame yourself."

Suguha and Sinon both nodded. Kirito sighed and said, "Well, come on. We need to find some place to take shelter."

As they wandered through the rain, the five ended up in the playgrounds again, since it was the only place they knew other than the orphanage.

The five children quickly went under into the small hut at the playgrounds and sat down. As the girls sat there, they started to fall asleep, Hikari being the first to doze off.

Unconsciously, the girls all leaned towards Kirito who was wide awake. The boy noticed them leaning against him. But more importantly, he noticed tears running down their faces.

The boy clenched his fists and thought, glaring into the rain, 'I will protect them, I swear on my life. I won't let them cry again.'

As the boy glared into the rain, he started to fall asleep as well. And if he stayed awake for a few seconds more, he would have noticed a figure with a cat mask appearing in front of them.

The next day, Kirito opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling. He also noticed that he was on a bed, a soft bed. The boy sat up and saw he was in a room. Curious, he walked out of the room and saw the Hokage sitting on a sofa.

Hiruzen smiled kindly, "Kirito-kun, you're awake."

The boy walked to the sofa and asked, "Hokage-sama? Where am I? Where are Asuna-chan, Sinon-chan, Suguha-chan and Hikari-chan?"

The Sarutobi smiled, "Calm down, they're fine. They're sleeping in their rooms. And to answer your first question, you're in your new apartment."

Kirito blinked, "Apartment?"

Hiruzen nodded and gripped the boy's shoulders, "I'm sorry, my boy. You have done well, sticking by Hikari-chan's side... you all have. The girl has had a burden placed on her since birth, and everyone has blamed her for it. I tried to help as much as I could, but now you all got kicked out of the orphanage."

The Hokage stood up and walked to the windows, "You can't stay at the orphanage anymore, with them kicking you five out. I'll fire the caretaker and get a new one, but you five will stay here. The village will provide allowances to the five of you weekly and we'll pay your rent. But once you become adults, you're paying them yourselves."

Kirito nodded. Hiruzen looked at the boy, "Kirito-kun, I know that the four of those girls want to be kunoichi. But what will you do?"

Kirito thought about it for a while and stared at the Hokage straight in the eye, "I will also train to be a ninja, I want to protect them."

Hiruzen smiled, having seen the look in the boy's eyes in his successor and nodded, "Good. You're all six now, you can enter the academy next year. After that, you will all train to be ninjas."

Kirito nodded as Hiruzen continued, "But for now, just continue your lives as children. I've stocked up on the fridge, so you should have enough food for two weeks before you need to buy more."

Kirito bowed, "Arigatougozaimasu, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage chuckled, "Think nothing of it. Take care of the girls, I have work to do now."

Kirito nodded and sat down on the sofa as the Hokage left the apartment. As the old man closed the door, he summoned a pair of Anbu, one with purple hair and a cat mask while the other had black hair and a weasel mask, "Neko, look after them. Weasel, bring me the caretakers of the orphanage, drag them to me if you need to."

Weasel nodded and vanished via Shunshin while Neko just went to find a spot where she could look after the five children.

With Kirito, he went to the two other rooms and found the four girls sleeping peacefully on the beds. Smiling softly at the sight, he closed the door and looked around the apartment. It had two toilets, a complete kitchen with utensils, a refridgerator, a sofa, a table and three bedrooms. All in all it was suitable for the five of them to live in it.

The boy nodded and sat down. The girls all wanted to be kunoichi, and he would need to be strong if he was to protect them.

XXX

So here it is, the first chapter. This is just all build up for the story, the real stuff starts the next few chapters. The next chapter will be entry to the academy and so on. Review please.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, so this is The Black Swordsman Chapter 2. So I'll be having the academy having two courses, the civilian and shinobi programmes. The students in the ninja classes will graduate at 16 while civilians graduate at 15. They will both start at the age of 7.

XXX

A year had passed after Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and Hikari had been kicked out of the orphanage and they were seven years old.

Throughout the year, the Hokage had visited them quite a few times and had even brought them to have ramen at a store called Ichiraku's Ramen.

The owner of the shop, Teuchi and his daughter Ayame had taken to the five children and welcomed them anytime.

The other villagers had also increased their animosity towards them. While not as bad as Hikari had it, it had caused the blonde girl distress as she knew it was because of her.

The others had immediately assured her that it was not her fault but the stupidity of the villagers and told her not to bother about it.

Now, the five of them were at the entrance of the academy. Hiruzen had taken care of the paper work for them and gave them the slips to enter the shinobi programme. All they needed was to just pass the entrance test, which was the test to check if the students had a chakra network that was suitable.

Hikari looked at her friends, "Are you ready?"

Suguha grinned, "Yeah, come on!"

Sinon, Asuna and Kirito grinned as they entered the academy. The five reached the class room and entered the room.

A man with a scar across his face saw the five children frowned immediately before he stopped frowning.

The man looked at the children, "So who are you five?"

Kirito grinned, "We're here to enter the academy!"

The man nodded, "Okay, I'm Umino Iruka, can you show me your documents?"

The kids handed their slips to the man. The man skimmed through them and nodded, finding them to be legit. The man looked at them, "Okay, follow me, we'll check your chakra levels to see if you have potential for being shinobi."

(Now, I don't know why the original Naruto series didn't have this. I mean if you don't have enough chakra you basically can't do shit. So I'll have Rock Lee with the bare minimum of chakra but didn't develop enough.)

The five of them eagerly followed after Iruka to a device. The man looked at the five children, "Okay, place your hands into then device."

Hikari eagerly went first and placed her hand into the device. The screen started to activate before a green circle appeared. The girl beamed and stepped away from the device.

Asuna, Suguha and Sinon all went and placed their hands into the device and the same results came. However, when Kirito placed his hands in, the device showed a red cross.

Kirito blinked, "Eh?"

Iruka sighed, "It seems you have too little chakra to qualify. Sorry kid, but you'll have to enter the civilian courses."

Kirito felt everything crashing down, he denied, "No... no no!"

He placed his hands into the device again and again, but it showed the same results. The teacher looked at the boy with pity, "Sorry kid, but you don't have the chakra coils to qualify to be a ninja. Even if it did grow, it wouldn't be enough for the most basic jutsu."

The boy backed away a few steps. Asuna reached out, "Kirito-kun..."

The boy pulled away, "No!"

He then turned and ran out of the building, with the girls yelling his name. Kirito ran as fast as he could, he didn't care where he went, he just wanted to be alone.

After running for who knows how long, he came to a stop. The boy found himself staring at the whole village with a beautiful view. He gasped in awe, his worries gone in an instant, "Beautiful..."

A voice replied from behind, "Indeed it is, the Hokage Monument provides a beautiful view of the entire village."

Kirito turned to see the old Hokage standing there. Hiruzen asked, "Though I'm curious, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the academy?"

Kirito looked down, "I can't enter. I don't have enough chakra or something."

Hiruzen blinked, "Really? That's strange, I can sense a huge amount of chakra in you."

Kirito blinked, "What? But the machine said I don't have enough coils or something."

Hiruzen blinked several times and chuckled, "Then I believe I know your problem. Unfortunately, it would still mean you cannot be a ninja. But, tell me, Kirito-kun, what would you do to protect them?"

The boy stared at the old man in the eye, "Anything."

Hiruzen grinned, "Good answer my boy. You're not the first with your problem. Your chakra coils are small, for some reason your chakra does not flow well, but you have a huge reserve of it, that's why you will not be able to use any type of jutsu."

The man turned, "Come with me."

Kirito nodded and followed the old Hokage. Soon, they arrived at a shop, it had many many weapons on display.

Hiruzen walked straight into the shop with the boy following behind him. A man with slight long hair stood behind the counter and greeted the Hokage, "Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen grinned, "Hello, Kayaba."

Kayaba asked, "So what brings you here?"

The Hokage gestured to the young boy beside him, "This is Kirito, he has the same problem you have."

Kayaba nodded and took a moment to get a feel of Kirito's chakra, "I see, so you've found him."

Hiruzen nodded and turned to Kirito, "Kirito-kun, this is Kayaba Akihiko. From now on, you will be his apprentice."

Kirito blinked, "Apprentice?"

Kayaba nodded, "Yes, I've been looking for one with the same problem we have to teach him my skills, to carry on my legacy."

Kirito tilted his head, "What kind of skills?"

Hiruzen smiled at the boy, "You will learn to be a blacksmith, among many other things, including swordsplay. You wish to protect the four girls with you, don't you?"

Kirito nodded as Kayaba chuckled, "Very well, having someone to protect is a good drive. So you will be my apprentice, won't you, Kirito?"

The boy nodded, "Yes sir."

Kayaba nodded and looked at Hiruzen, "Hokage-sama, he will also be attending the academy, yes?"

The old Sarutobi nodded, "He'll be in the civilian course, but yes. I trust you will arrange a schedule for him?"

Kayaba nodded. Then Kirito spoke, "Umm, excuse me, it just came up, but I also want to learn to cook."

Hiruzen blinked, "Cook? What brought that up, and where would you do that?"

Kirito grinned, "Well, I can't be a ninja, so if I can't protect them by their side, I thought I should support them as much as I can. And I thought of going to Teuchi-ojisan for that."

Kayaba nodded, "Okay, I'll fix up a schedule. The academy, the civilian courses, usually end by noon, so you'll come here to learn under me every Monday to Wednesday, then the rest of the week is up to you."

Kirito nodded, "Yes sir."

Kayaba looked at Hiruzen, "Thank you, Hokage-sama, for helping me with this."

Hiruzen chuckled and shook his head, "Think nothing of it. Besides, it was by chance that Kirito-kun had your problem."

Kayaba nodded and looked at the boy, "Do you wish to start now? Or you could come here tomorrow after class."

Kirito thought for a moment and answered, "If its okay, I want to go see if Teuchi-ojisan will let me learn under him. So maybe tomorrow?"

Kayaba nodded, "That's fine. I'll see you tomorrow at 2pm then?"

Kirito smiled and bowed, "Yes sir, thank you sir."

Kayaba nodded as Kirito bowed to the Hokage, "Thank you very much, Hokage-sama."

The Sarutobi nodded as the young boy left the blacksmith for the ramen stand. Kayaba then looked at Hiruzen, "Hokage-sama, he's one of the kids that live with Minato and Kushina's daughter, right?"

Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, I'm happy for the girl. More importantly though, the boy wants to protect the four of them, he cares for them a lot. He can give Hikari-chan what we all couldn't."

Kayaba nodded, "Besides, you sensed his chakra, didn't you? He could be one of those descendants."

Hiruzen nodded, "Yeah, he could be one of the Underworld. So you'll be teaching him your sword skills right?"

Kayaba nodded, "I'll have to see which weapons suit him the most though."

Hiruzen nodded, "Good, I'll take my leave then. Have a good day."

The blacksmith nodded, "You too, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage nodded and left.

Meanwhile, with Kirito, he had arrived at Ichiraku's ramen stand. He yelled, "Teuchi-ojisan!"

The man walked out, "Oh, Kirito-kun, what brings you here?"

Kirito stared at the man in the eye, "Teuchi-ojisan, will you accept me as your apprentice?"

The man blinked, "What brought this up? I thought you wanted to be a ninja."

Kirito looked down for a bit and answered, "I can't be a ninja. So I want to learn how to cook, at least I can support the girls."

Teuchi considered for a while before Ayame walked out, "Otou-san! Just accept it, you've wanted to find one after all."

Teuchi looked at his daughter and sighed, "Well, I didn't say I wouldn't accept. Sure, Kirito-kun, but let me tell you, the path to a cook will be harsh."

Kirito nodded, "But umm, I won't be free from Monday to Wednesday, I have to learn blacksmithing and stuff."

Teuchi nodded, "Its fine, you can help and learn under me on Thursday to Saturdays, the shop is closed only on Sundays after all."

Kirito grinned, he couldn't be a ninja or fight by their side. But he could support them as much as he could.

Later that evening, Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and Hikari came back to the apartment. After the first class,the four girls had searched for the boy but couldn't find him.

When they entered, they found the boy reading a book on forging weapons. Kirito had gone back to Kayaba's shop and told him of his plans. The man had agreed with it and gave the boy a book on the basics of weapons as a little homework.

Asuna said, "Kirito-kun! Where were you?"

Sinon nodded, "You disappeared, the teachers said they didn't see you and we couldn't find you."

Kirito smiled sheepishly, "Well, after I ran, I met Hokage-sama and he talked to me. So I'm learning to be a blacksmith and a cook now. But I still have to attend the academy though."

The girls nodded. Suguha then asked, "So what is that book?"

Kirito looked at the book and answered, "Well, Kayaba-sensei said that since I'm going to start tomorrow, I should read up on weapons and their structures first."

Hikari nodded, "I see. Then when we need weapons, we'll come to you!"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah."

Three years later, Kirito had attended the academy and learned under Teuchi and Kayaba. The boy could now cook decent meals and forge weapons that were quite decent. He also did quite well in the academy with all the subjects.

The four girls also excelled in their classes. The shinobi classes mainly focused on theory with little focus on pratical since it only starts in the fourth year.

Now, as Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and Hikari trained in the academy, Kirito was standing in front of Kayaba.

The man said, "Kirito-kun, I've taught you most of the things I know about forgery, and you've made quite decent weapons, all you need is practice and experience. So from now on, I will teach you the second part of my skills."

Kayaba turned and walked, "Follow me."

The ten year old followed his master to the back of the shop. Kayaba said, "I have had a good friend of mine set up seals here, so I could train in peace."

They walked to a door with seals on it. Kayaba said, "From now on, you will learn to use a sword, and we'll see where it takes us."

The man opened the door to reveal a vast plain with lush green grass. Kirito blinked, "But... we're in the village, your shop is in the middle of the village."

Kayaba smirked at the boy's dumbfounded face, "Seals, my boy, seals can do anything. So, you will start now."

Kirito nodded, ready for anything his master threw at him.

That night, the boy had immediately slumped onto the sofa, "Kayaba-sensei is cruel..."

Asuna giggled as the four girls did their homework, "What happened?"

Kirito was about to tell them before he remembered what Kayaba told him, not to reveal their training, as they were sacres secrets. He didn't want to lie to the girls, but he did it anyway, "He just made me forge non-stop. Its just tiring."

Hikari giggled, "Well, at least you don't have to deal with Iruka-sensei's boring lectures."

Kirito sighed, "Maybe. Well, Imma sleep now. Night girls."

The boy stood up from the sofa and headed for his bedroom as the girls bid him goodnight.

After a few months, Kirito held a pair of bokken as he faced his master, who held a wooden shield and bokken. Kayaba had found that Kirito had a knack for dual-weilding and quickly taught him, the results were more than satisfactory as the boy learned it easily.

Now, Kirito held his swords and charged the man. He pushed on for a few good minutes before Kayaba blocked a slash and sent Kirito to the floor with his sword.

Kayaba nodded, "You're getting better. You have less openings and better reaction speed. As of now, you can beat most gennin and some chunnin. But they will still be faster."

Kirito rubbed his arms and asked, "So how do I even that out?"

Kayaba grinned, "That's what I'll be teaching you for the next few classes."

The man glowed red before he appeared behind Kirito, shocking the young boy. Kayaba said, "The first skill, Acceleration. This will allow you to keep up with the shinobi's superior speed."

He appeared in front of Kirito, "Its similar to the shinobi's Shunshin no Jutsu and the Yondaime Hokage's Hiraishin no Jutsu."

Kayaba then turned and grew a pair of transparent wings, "The next skill, is these wings. It will allow you to fight on abnormal terrains, for example on water or on walls."

Kayaba then turned and held up and palm, "The third skill, is our equivalent of their elemental jutsu, Ek verpa einn brandr muspilli, kalla bresta bani, steypa lundr drótt."

A magic circle appeared in front of Kayaba's palm and shot out a ball of fire that destroyed one of the dummies near them.

Kirito stared at the destroyed dummy in awe, Kayaba smirked at his face, "That is what you will learn and master the next few years. By the time you graduate, I will have you fight on par with high Jounin."

XXX

So here's the next chapter. Before you guys say anything, just let me make it clear, I never said anything about Kirito being a ninja the 'normal' way. He will join missions in the future. But that will be after the Chuunin Exam arc. He will also forge the Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor in the next two chapters. I won't take too much time with the pre-gennin arc, maybe the next two chapters to finish the Pre-gennin arc. Review please.


	3. Chapter 3

HELLO, so I'm going to build up this story until maybe the fifth or seventh chapter before I get back to my Gundam fic. I also have quite some time now, so I can work on chapters quite fast. So this is the third chapter, enjoy. Btw, expect a few timeskips for this and the next chapter too.

XXX

A few years later, Kirito and the girls were now 13. Kayaba was very impressed, in just a few years, Kirito was almost on par with him in terms of forging weapons. In terms of fighting, the boy could take on high chuunin to low jounin level opponents.

To Kirito's cooking skills, to the joy of the four girls, he could cook like a pro, especially ramen and Hikari had never been so happy.

Speaking of the girls, the four of them were the top four students in the class. Like how Sasuke had a horde of fangirls, the four of them had a horde of fanboys each.

Now, it was recess and Kirito was in his class drawing a sketch of the swords he planned to forge while waiting for the girls. As he continued to sketch, a group of five boys walked to him.

Kirito stopped drawing and asked, "May I help you?"

The first boy spoke, "Yeah, we want you to stay away from Asuna and the girls."

Kirito stared at the boy straight in the eye. He could easily guess the group of boys were from one of the shinobi classes. The boy stood up and spoke, "Sorry, but I think not. Besides, its their choice."

One of the other boys growled, "You little!"

He reached to grab Kirito but the boy just leaned to a side and dodged it. The first boy growled, "You're just a civilian, you can't even use chakra."

Kirito smirked and walked out of his seat, "Really? Then let me show you, the difference in our strength."

The first boy lunged at Kirito but he just ducked and gave him a punch to the gut so hard that he spat saliva out. The second boy threw a punch at Kirito, which to him seemed like slow-motion. Kirito grabbed the boy's wrist and easily stopped the punch. The boy smirked and gave him a punch to the face that sent him to the floor.

Kirito looked at the third boy who tried to throw a punch. The boy blocked the punch easily and hooked his legs, tripping the third boy.

The black-haired boy then looked at the fourth and fifth boy who backed away. Kirito smirked as the five boys stumbled away.

One of his classmates, a boy named Sousuke said, "Holy shit man! You trashed those suckers!"

Kirito chuckled, "It was nothing."

Sousuke laughed, "Nothing?! Dude, they are from the shinobi classes and you beat them!"

Kirito packed his stuff and started to leave to look for the girls, "Well, I just learned some martial arts. So yeah, see you later."

As Kirito reached the door, Sousuke called out, "Hey, you always eat with Sinon-san right? Can you introduce me sometime?"

Kirito smirked and turned to look at the boy, "Maybe not."

With that he just left and the class laughed at Sousuke who just grumbled.

With Kirito, he walked to a table where Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and Hikari were sitting. The four girls smiled and waved at him once they saw him. The boy grinned and quickly sat down, taking put a container.

Hikari stared at the boy eagerly as Kirito chuckled, "Alright, here."

The boy passed a bowl of ramen to the girl who quickly dug into it. Kirito then took out the other containers before he passed them to the other three girls who also quickly dug into the food.

Kirito chuckled and started to eat as well. As they ate, Hikari asked, "So Kirito-kun, do you have anything to do later?"

Kirito blinked, "Umm, I don't think so, why?"

Sinon looked at him, "Well, we're having a training session later, with Hinata-chan and the others, you wanna join?"

Kirito shrugged, "I'm okay with anything, but won't I be a bother?"

Suguha giggled, "No you won't."

Asuna nodded as she swallowed a mouthful of food. Kirito sighed, "Fine. I suppose I can get Teuchi-ojisan to let me off one night."

The girls beamed at the boy as he sighed. After class, the boy headed for Teuchi's stand and said, "Teuchi-ojisan, sorry but can I have the day off?"

Teuchi looked at the boy and said, "The girls, am I right?"

Kirito nodded. The old chef nodded and grinned, "Okay, I'll just cut off a day's worth of salary from you."

Kirito nodded, "Sure, go ahead."

Teuchi blinked, "You serious? I was joking actually."

Kirito nodded before Ayame hit her dad's head with a clean fry pan, "Otou-san!"

Teuchi rubbed his head, "Okay fine, I won't. Have fun, kid."

Kirito nodded, "Thank you, Teuchi-jisan, you too, Ayame-neesan."

The girl smiled, "Sure, have fun!"

Kirito merely waved as he walked away for the training fields where the others were waiting.

Upon arriving, he saw the four girls, a boy with a hoodie and a small puppy, a blonde girl with a pony tail, a boy with sunglasses, a boy with a pineapple head, a chubby boy and a dark violet haired girl wearing a jacket.

Asuna waved, "Kirito-kun!"

Kirito waved back and walked to them. The blonde pony-tailed girl smiled, "So this the mysterious boy that's living with our four princesses."

Kirito nodded and bowed slightly, "Konnichiwa, I'm Kirito."

The blonde pony-tailed girl grinned, "I'm Ino, nice to meet you."

The boy with the puppy spoke, "Name's Kiba, this is Akamaru."

Kirito nodded as Kiba continued, "This is Hinata, that's Shino, the pineapple is Shikamaru and that's Chouji."

Kirito nodded, "So, what are you guys doing?"

Hinata stuttered, "Well, we were planning to train."

Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome, you guys go ahead. I just want to sit down and watch the clouds."

Kirito blinked before he yelled, "Finally! Someone understands!"

Shikamaru looked at the boy and smirked, "I think we're gonna get along quite well. "

Kirito smirked, "Yeah, you're a Nara, right?"

Shikamaru nodded as Kirito asked, "Shogi?"

The Nara's smirk widened, "Oh you're on."

The others deadpanned as Shikamaru took out a board and they sat down, starting to play.

After half an hour, everyone had their jaws open. Kirito grinned, "And that's checkmate."

Shikamaru gaped, he had believed that he had the upper hand the entire game but Kirito had actually led him into a trap.

Kiba grabbed his head in shock, "Holy shit! Shikamaru actually lost!"

Kirito chuckled, "Well, I actually thought I was gonna lose at some point."

Ino, Asuna, Hikari, Sinon and Suguha were still in shock that Kirito won. Hinata smiled, "Well, at least they didn't take too long."

Kirito stood up, "So, when are you gonna start training?"

That shook them out of the surprise as they started to do warmups. Kirito commented, "So you're going to train by sparring?"

Sinon nodded, "Yup, though my Taijutsu isn't that good compared to the others. Kiba and Hinata are the best among us for now."

Kirito nodded as they started to spar. As he watched them, he noticed that only Hinata had a proper style while the others had not so refined styles.

He also noticed that Kiba and Hinata were indeed the best among the group. Kirito thought, 'Maybe it wouldn't hurt to show off a bit? I mean Kayaba-sensei didn't say I couldn't.'

He stood up and said, "Hey, would you guys mind if I try?"

The ninja in training all blinked, "Eh?"

Kirito grinned, "Yeah, I wanna try sparring with Kiba."

Suguha said worriedly, "But Kiba isn't a push over, you sure?"

Kiba looked at Kirito who was grinning, "Why not? I won't beat him up so much."

Hikari shook her head, "No. Absolutely not!"

Kirito whined, "Aw come on, Hikari-chan."

Hikari glared slightly at him, "This is not a joke, Kirito-kun."

Kirito's look turned serious, "And who says I was joking?"

Sinon sighed, "Just let him try."

Asuna and Suguha nodded. Kiba let out a breath and turned to Kirito, "Okay, no regrets man."

Kirito nodded. Asuna stood beside them and said, "I'll tell you when to start then."

The two boys nodded. The auburn haired girl raised her arm, "Ready?"

The two boys took their stances, Kiba in his clan style with the wild look while Kirito bent his legs slightly with his right fist at his waist and left hand in front.

Asuna swung her hand down, "Begin!"

Kirito immediately charged forward with a speed that surprised everyone since they knew he was a civilian. Kiba got over his surprise and charged forward as well.

The two met as Kiba threw a fist.

Kirito grinned and leaned to the left and threw a punch, doing a cross-counter that sent Kiba flying into the ground.

The fact that the attack hit surprised the others as Kiba stood up and rubbed his bruised cheek, "Not bad, but that was a lucky shot."

Kirito smirked retook his stance, "Maybe, maybe not, wanna try again?"

Kiba smirked and charged. The two then started to exchange a series of punches and kicks. For every kick or punch Kiba sent, Kirito blocked them and countered with his own.

The fact that Kirito was actually keeping up with Kiba surprised all of them before Kiba was sent flying by a kick from Kirito again.

Hikari blinked, "I didn't know Kirito-kun knew how to fight."

Asuna, Suguha and Sinon nodded. Ino looked at them surprised, "Are you serious?"

The four girls nodded. Kiba got up and charged again, before he leaped up and started to spin, "Tsuga!"

Suguha yelled, "Kiba! That's going too far! Kirito-kun!"

Kiba didn't stop and Kirito just stood there firm in his stance. Asuna, Hikari, Suguha and Sinon were about to step in when Kirito spun and gave Kiba a kick.

The kick actually hit Kiba in the head and sent him crashing into a tree groaning. Everyone could just gaped as Kirito ran to Kiba.

The boy asked, "Hey Kiba, you okay?"

The Inuzuka groaned, "Oh my god, are you sure you're a civilian student?"

Kirito pulled the dog boy up, "Yeah, but who said I couldn't learn martial arts?"

Kiba sighed, "Point taken."

And after that, Kirito would hang out with the group when he wasn't working at Kayaba's blacksmith or Teuchi's stand.

A few days later, Kirito was working on a katana. Out in the shop, Kayaba was at the cashier, grateful that Kirito could make swords decent enough to be sold.

As he counted the money, four girls entered the shop and Kayaba immediately recognized one of them. Asuna asked, "Umm, excuse me, is Kirito-kun here?"

Kayaba nodded and yelled, "Kirito! There are four girls here for you!"

The boy yelled, "I'm working on a katana! Tell them to wait a bit!"

Kayaba chuckled, "You heard him girls, why don't you look around."

The girls nodded as they looked around the store. Kayaba thought, 'Man, if Minato or Kushina were here, they'd be proud.'

Kayaba decided to ask, "So, the four of you live with him?"

Hikari nodded, "Yes, we live in an apartment."

Kayaba grinned, "So, a boy lives with four girls. He didn't tell me that."

Sinon nodded as she traced her fingers across a bow, "Yeah, we don't talk about that much."

Kayaba nodded and asked, "So, Uzumaki Hikari, are you interested in learning kenjutsu?"

Hikari blinked, "How do you know my name?"

Kayaba grinned, "Who doesn't? You're the last Uzumaki and the famous 'demon'. And just so we're clear, I don't care."

Hikari blinked and nodded, "Okaayyy... and why kenjutsu?"

Kayaba grinned, "Oh you don't know? The Uzumaki clan was famous for their kenjutsu and seals. I thought they'd cover that in the academy by now."

The girls blinked, they knew nothing of the Uzumaki clan. Kayaba sighed and thought, 'Danzo no doubt.'

The blacksmith nodded, "Well, I guess you should read up on them."

Hikari nodded, "Thank you for telling me."

Kayaba chuckled, "Don't sweat it, your parents would be proud. Now, I believe Kirito is done."

As if on cue, Kirito walked out as he took off his apron and stuff. The boy looked at the girls, "So, shall we go?"

The girls nodded and the five of them left. As they left, Kayaba thought, 'I'm gonna have to tell Kirito about the girl's parents and her lineage sometime. Maybe even have him get a mission to go to the ruins of Uzu no Kuni.'

As the five walked, Hikari realized what Kayaba had said and thought, 'He knows my parents?'

The girl decided to file it off for later and went home with the four others.

Later that night, Kirito and Asuna cooked dinner. Kirito asked, "So anything interesting today?"

Hikari sighed, "Sasuke kept asking me for a date. I just don't want to, I want someone like Kirito-kun. And Sakura and those fangirls almost ruptured my ears."

Suguha giggled, "Maybe he actually likes you."

Sinon looked at Suguha with a deadpanned face, "We all know that he just has a massive ego and a pole up his ass and wants Hikari-chan because she is, in his words, fit to be matriarch of the Uchiha clan."

Hikari sighed, "Its times like this I wish that fanclub would actually help me instead of bother Kirito-kun."

Kirito chuckled as he placed the food onto the table, "Isn't Uchiha Sasuke the best student?"

Asuna nodded as she wiped her hands, "For now, yes, he used to be a nice guy, but after the Uchiha clan got wiped out, he became a cold bastard."

Kirito nodded, "Well, if Asuna-chan says that, I guess he really is a bastard."

Hikari nodded, "But if Sasuke comes for me, you'll protect me right, Kirito-kun?"

The boy chuckled, "Of course, but I don't know if I will survive." 'Of course I will, he won't touch any of you.'

The next day, Kirito, Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and Hikari were having lunch under a tree unlike the usual table. The girls wanted some peace and quiet and the boy was more than happy for a change.

As they ate, Hikari sighed, "Ugh, here comes Sasuke."

The last Uchiha looked at the last Uzumaki, "Hikari, would you join me for dinner later?"

Hikari stared at the Uchiha, she didn't fail to notice the death glare Sakura, Ino and the bunch of fangirls were giving her. The Uzumaki sighed, "For the hundredth time, no. I already have plans, with Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan, Sinon-chan and Kirito-kun."

Sasuke nodded, "Maybe you could reconsider?"

Hikari stopped eating and sighed, "Please, just stop. I don't have any interest in you, and you're disturbing us."

One of Sasuke's fangirls growled, "How dare you speak to Sasuke-kun like that?!"

The Uchiha glared at the girl who shut her mouth before turning back to Hikari, "Surely you could reconsider?"

Hikari shook her head and had enough, "No, besides, I prefer Kirito-kun. He's also cooking ramen tonight."

The others had stopped eating and was looking at the little drama. Sasuke frowned and stared at the boy, "Him? What does he have that an Uchiha doesn't? A civilian who can't even use chakra."

Hikari placed her food down and stood up, glaring at the Uchiha, "To answer your question, he is simply better. You have all these fangirls, can you leave us?"

Asuna nodded, also standing up, fed up with how Sasuke insulted Kirito and bothered them, "Yes, you've bothered us long enough."

Sinon and Suguha said nothing, but their expressions said everything. As for Kirito, he just stared at Sasuke, ready to act at a moment's notice.

Sasuke growled and walked to Kirito, "Stand up."

Kirito places his food aside and stood up to Sasuke's level, "Do you need anything? I'm sure the girls have made it clear."

Sasuke ignored him and said, "Tell me, what do you have that I don't?"

Kirito shrugged, "No idea, but Hikari-chan just said that, didn't she?"

Sasuke stared at the boy, he knew Kirito could fight, he had eyes similar to his, Sasuke saw them everytime he looked into the mirror, a drive to grow stronger.

The last Uchiha knew he would look very bad if he was wrong, but he was, in his opinion, never wrong. Sasuke said, "Fight me."

Kirito raised an eyebrow while everyone else gasped, including the small crowd that had gathered once Kirito stood up to Sasuke's level.

Kirito glanced around, seeing the worried faces of the four girls, along with Ino, Kiba, Hinata and Chouji. Sakura said, "Umm, Sasuke-kun, surely you don't mean that? He's a civilian student."

The Uchiha ignored her and looked at Kirito, "Well?"

Kiba said, "Kirito, I know you can fight, but even if you don't, we won't think any less of you."

The boy smirked, "Very well, I'll play."

Sasuke smirked, "Good."

The Uchiha turned and put some distance between them, "Anyone, we need a proctor."

The Uchiha glanced at the crowd before one of his fangirls walked out. The girl looked at both boys and said, "Are both sides ready?"

Sasuke nodded while Kirito grinned and cracked his neck, "Yeah."

The girl swung her hand down and yelled, "Begin!"

Sasuke shot forward at speeds that shocked everyone. To Kirito who could fight on jounin level however, Sasuke was moving at slow-motion. The boy decided to humor the Uchiha a bit and clashed punches with him.

The Uchiha's eyes widened as he felt as if he had punched a metal wall and pulled back holding his hand, "What the fuck?"

Kirito stood there with his fist out and grinned, "I've been forging weapons since I joined the academy, saying that I have hands of steel wouldn't be too far fetched."

Sasuke grunted, "But, it still won't help you face an elite like me!"

Kirito smirked and charged the Uchiha. His speed surprised many around them since they knew Kirito was a student in the civilian course. Kirito closed the gap between him and Sasuke before he threw two fingers at the Uchiha's eyes.

Being a doujutsu user, or at least a born one, since he hadn't activated his Sharingan, Sasuke flinched and closed his eyes. Kirito grinned and swept him off his feet onto the ground and punched the Uchiha in the chest lightly.

Sasuke opened his eyes to see Kirito's arm stretched out. Kirito grinned, "Nice fight, man."

Sasuke looked around and noticed he was on the ground. He growled and slapped Kirito's arm away before standing up, "This is not over."

He walked away through the crowd as everyone stood there dumbfounded before Iruka's voice came, "What are you all doing?"

Everyone quickly moved away as recess was almost over. Kirito sighed and went back to his spot and continued eating.

Then he noticed the four most important girls in his life staring at him. Suguha asked, "Who are you? What have you done to Kirito-kun?"

Sinon nodded with a stern gaze while Asuna and Hikari just looked curious. Kirito chuckled nervously, "Erm, maybe at night?"

Later after class, Kirito was in Kayaba's shop. The boy sighed, "I messed up. I fought Sasuke and won. Now I have to tell the girls."

Kayaba chuckled, "That's what happens when you show off too much. I don't mind, just make sure you don't show off your real skills before they graduate."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah. By the way, Kayaba-sensei, I'm gonna start forging my swords."

Kayaba raised an eyebrow, "Oh? So you've completed planning?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, you want to look at the blueprints?"

Kayaba shook his head, "Nah, keep it, I'll just look at the end product."

Kirito nodded, "I'll start tomorrow."

The master nodded before he asked his student, "By the way, who are you going to choose?"

Kirito blinked, "Choose?"

The man nodded, "Yeah, you swore to protect all four of them. But you can only choose one as your girlfriend you know?"

Kirito blushed before he looked down, "I don't know. I care for all of them, hell, I'd die for them if they asked me to. But, I just don't know."

Kayaba chuckled, "Ah, youth. By the way, there's something I want to tell you. Its about Hikari."

Kirito raised an eyebrow, "What about her?"

Kayaba put down the katana he was cleaning and walked to the 'portal' door, "Its not something we can talk here."

Kirito nodded and followed him. Once they entered the field, Kayaba said, "Kirito, you know about the Uzumaki clan, right?"

The boy nodded, "Yeah, you made me learn about every clan in history. I know Hikari-chan is one."

Kayaba nodded, "Someone has removed it from the academy syllabus. No one in your generation knows about them."

Kirito's eyes widened, "What? Why?"

Kayaba shrugged, "Who knows? But what I'm about to tell you is a double S-ranked secret. You cannot tell any of the girls."

Kirito nodded, "Okay."

The master blacksmith continued, "Hikari is the Jinchurikii of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Kirito's eyes widened in shock, "What?!"

The man nodded, "Yes, she does not know that yet. You cannot tell her, only the Hokage can. And there's more, its about her lineage."

Kirito nodded as Kayaba said, "Her parents, are Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina."

Kirito's eyes widened before he said, "Wait, her birthday is on the 10th of October, the day the Kyuubi attacked. I thought everyone hated her because of her whiskers and her birthday. But if we put the conditions of being a full-fledged Jinchurikii into consideration, it fits."

Kayaba nodded, "And Minato wouldn't choose anyone else to be the Jinchurikii, or at least if he could choose. I don't know the details, but someone brought the Kyuubi into the village when Hikari was born, and being the only newborn, she was the only one who could survive having something as huge as the Kyuubi sealed into her."

Kirito looked down, "And Hokage-sama has been keeping this from her?"

Kayaba gripped his apprentice's shoulders, "I know you love her, all of the girls, but its for her safety. The Hokage is convinced that if word gets out she is the Jinchurikii and the daughter of the Fourth Hokage, other enemies would target her."

Kirito clenched his fists, "That's not fair!"

His master nodded, "It isn't. But life isn't fair. I am not the Hokage, so I can't do anything. But when they graduate, you can request a mission to go to Uzu no Kuni. There are rare chakra metals there, use that as an excuse to find anything related to Hikari, especially the Uzumaki clan tree scroll."

Kirito nodded as his master continued, "I will tell you more. But for now, forge your swords."

The boy nodded as they exited the field.

XXX

Done. So like I said, I have some free time. So maybe expect the next chapter in the next two days. Kirito will forge his swords in the next chapter. Graduations and stuff in the next chapter too. Review please.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello. So this is chapter 4.

 **Krecier** , that was what I intended actually. So before we go into the chapter. Just in case anyone is curious, the council will only contain shinobi, Danzo, and the elders. No civilians in the council, so the only ones who are 'bad' in the council will be Danzo and the elders.

Just wanted to try the 'No civilian council' thing as someone mentioned it once.

So yeah, let's start with the chapter.

XXX

A few days later, Kirito had finally finished forging both swords. (Surely I don't need to tell you how they look) As he took them out, Kayaba whistled, "Wow, I must say, these are masterpieces. They are well balanced, made of chakra metal. You really went all out. I'm impressed."

Kirito smiled shyly, "Thank you, sensei. But I still have ways to go."

Kayaba nodded as he studied the swords, "True. But to be honest, I've taught you everything I could in terms of forgery and fighting. You could actually leave and open up your own shop. The village really needs another blacksmith. Higurashi and I really have our work cut out. And the guy has his whole family working."

Kirito chuckled, "Maybe I will."

Kayaba nodded, "I can help you set up the shop and stuff. Hell, I'd even help you buy a shop. Honestly, I don't mind the work, but being one of the only two forges, its tiring."

Kirito nodded, "Okay. We'll set up a shop."

Kayaba grinned, "Nice. So, what are you going to name these swords?"

Kirito looked at them and grinned, "Elucidator and Dark Repulsor."

Kayaba nodded, "Not bad. But a little contradictory, don't ya think?"

Kirito blinked, "Really?"

The master nodded, "You ordered a full black coat and pants with gloves. You're practically all dark, but you named your swords to light up the darkness."

Kirito just grinned, "Eh, but its cool."

Kayaba nodded as he went back to working as Kirito thought of the girls. As promised, he didn't tell Hikari anything, but it still bothered him.

Deciding to file it off for later, he went back to making sheathes for his swords.

Meanwhile, with Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and Hikari. The four girls were back in the apartment. They had finished training and decided to go home early.

After they cleaned up, they sat at the sofa. Asuna asked, "Hey, when are you girls telling him?"

The three other girls immediately knew what she meant. Suguha looked at the table, "I don't know. Besides, he can only choose one of us."

Sinon nodded, "Yeah, to be honest I don't mind sharing. But..."

Hikari nodded, "I know. Stupid laws."

Asuna smiled, "Well, I don't mind either. But you don't think Kirito-kun has someone else he likes?"

Sinon looked at the auburn haired girl, "Are you serious?"

Asuna nodded, "I mean, we are all going to be kunoichi. We probably won't live as long as he will."

The three other girls stayed silent as they sat there. Suguha then decided to change the subject, "But, to think Kirito-kun learns martial arts."

The other girls nodded.

(Flashback a few days earlier)

After Kirito learned about Hikari's lineage, he went back home. When he entered the apartment, he found the four girls waiting for him.

The boy's first reaction was to tell Hikari about what he learned, but he forced it down even if it pained him.

Asuna asked with a sweet smile, "So, Kirito-kun, can you explain?"

Kirito chuckled nervously, "Well, I've been learning martial arts from Kayaba-sensei. He said I should learn it just in case. Besides, I mean we were just fighting with fists, no ninjutsu or anything, right?"

Suguha sighed, "You should have told us though."

Kirito laughed sheepishly, "Sorry, I'll make it up to you girls. I'll do anything."

He almost regretted it when he saw the gleam in their eyes.

So the next day, after class, the girls dragged him shopping and helped his wallet cut some weight.

(Flashback end)

Asuna giggled, "At least we got some clothes."

The three other girls nodded as they continued to talk about random stuff until Kirito came back.

Two years later, Kirito and the girls were now 15. Kayaba had helped his student set up a new store near Kirito's apartment and even helped him get equipment for blacksmithing.

Kirito had also stopped working for Teuchi, who said that he had nothing to teach Kirito and all he needed was practise. So this left him with more time.

In less than a few months, many of the ninja had decided to go to Kirito for weapons, which relieved the other two blacksmiths since it reduced their load of work. But there was someone who wasn't that happy, and Kirito could still remember it.

(Flashback a year ago)

After class, Kirito was cleaning the counter when he heard the door open. A girl with her hair tied in two buns stomped in.

Kirito asked, "May I help you?"

The girl huffed, "So you're the new blacksmith... you don't seem much."

Kirito blinked, "Umm, is anything wrong?"

The girl glared at the boy, "My name is Higurashi Tenten. From now on, you are my rival!"

(Flashback end)

After that, Kirito had asked Kayaba and Tenten's father, Higurashi Ryuu about it. The two blacksmiths had laughed at the boy and just told him to suck it up.

Now, Kirito was going to graduate from the academy and frankly it didn't mean much now since he had his shop.

The boy sat in his seat as he stared at the clock. He had finished his paper in less than half an hour and he still had an hour left.

The boy sighed. The four girls that lived with him had grown even more beautiful and no one did not know them. Their fanclubs, to his annoyance, had grown by a huge margin. Sasuke had also grown aggressive with his advances which annoyed Hikari.

The girls had maintained their positions of being the top four students and no one had come close to matching them. Unfortunately, Hikari still couldn't, to her frustration, do the Bunshin no jutsu properly.

Speaking of Hikari, the village had reduced their animosity towards them. They stopped the mobs quite a few years ago and now they glared less at her or any of the five for that matter.

Kirito however, was still hated by most of the male populace in the academy since it was a well-known fact that he lived with them. It was also somewhat an open secret that the four girls all liked Kirito, which the boy knew nothing of.

Kirito looked at the clock again and saw he had 45 minutes left and just decided to sleep. The other students and the examiner sweatdropped at that since he was the first to complete whereas most were just finishing half of the paper.

After the test, Kirito walked out of the class. He didn't bother to attend the graduation ceremony and the girls were probably still in class. He vaguely remembered them saying something about a taijutsu class or something.

The boy entered a cafe right beside his shop. The cafe was called Dicey Cafe and was opened by a foreigner from Kaminari no kuni.

He entered and saw two men sitting by the table. One was a dark skinned man named Andrew Gilbert mills, the owner of the cafe, and he prefered people to call him Agil.

The other was a man with slight red hair. He had a bandana on his head and held a sake cup. The man was Klein Ryotaro and he was a civilian who practised kendo.

Klein grinned when he saw the teen, "Yo, Kiri-no-ji!"

Kirito waved, "Hey, Klein, Agil."

Agil grinned and gave the teen a glass of coffee, "So you're done with the test?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, it was easy. Now I can focus on my shop full time."

Klein gave the teen a smirk, "That means you're one of us now right? An adult."

Kirito sighed, "Who knows? Besides, shouldn't you be working and not drinking?"

Klein laughed, "Who cares?"

Kirito looked at Agil, "He got fired again, didn't he?"

The bald man could only nod. Kirito shook his head, "You should just work for Agil or me, Klein."

The man just laughed, "Don't worry! I will get a stable job soon! I need it for the girls ya know?"

Kirito shook his head as he sipped his coffee, "Well, I don't think you'll get any at this rate."

Agil sighed and looked at Kirito, "But shouldn't you be with your friends? As in similar aged boys?"

Kirito deadpanned, "I live with four of the most popular girls in the academy. Any male in the academy hates me."

Agil laughed, "Well, that's true."

A voice then said, "Can't blame them though, but that's why Kirito is friends with creepy old men like us."

The three turned to see Kayaba Akihiko walking to them. Kirito greeted, "Kayaba-sensei."

The blacksmith smiled, "Hello, Kirito. How's your coat?"

Kirito grinned, "Its awesome. With those seals on it I can store anything on it and it won't weigh a thing."

Kayaba nodded, "Good. By the way, how are the sword skills coming?"

Kirito grinned, "I've almost finished the ones you gave me."

(Flashback)

A few years ago, some time before Kayaba taught Kirito the Acceleration and the wings.

Kirito stood in front of Kayaba. The master said, "Kirito, I'll be teaching you sword skills. Unlike the spells I showed you, the sword skills require no incantations and can be used almost immediately."

The man grabbed his shield and sword. Kayaba then took a stance as his blade glowed, "This is a sword skill. We, you and I, cannot use chakra the normal way. Our coils are too small for the chakra flow required for ninjutsu and genjutsu."

Kayaba swung the blade at a metal dummy and sliced through it cleanly, "But it also provides us with a superb amount of control. Our sword skills require that amount of control to even be able to activate the simplest of the skills."

Kirito nodded as his master continued, "That's not to say normal shinobi cannot use our skills, but it'd require a huge amount of control. The closest thing they can do is just infuse the weapons with elemental chakra. We can do more."

Kayaba then threw Kirito a one-handed sword, "To use dual-wielded swords, you need to learn to use one-handed sword skills first. Your first skill, is the Slant skill."

(Flashback end)

Kayaba nodded, "Good, I'll give another set of them after you've finished them."

Kirito nodded in response as he continued to drink his coffee. Kirito then asked Agil, "So, Agil, anything new these days?"

The man grinned, "Well, heard from Kakashi that next year's gennin might be good."

Kirito snorted, "No shit, the girls' class consists of all clan heirs and a few with serious potential."

Agil chuckled, "Well, I doubt they'll be a match for you."

Klein laughed, "Of course not, Kiri-no-ji can best all of them without even drawing his second sword."

Kirito sighed, "Maybe."

Kayaba then said, "By the way, I heard someone who couldn't use chakra passed the Gennin exam."

Kirito raised an eyebrow, "Oh? That's interesting, if he couldn't use chakra, how did he even enter the academy?"

Agil chuckled, "Eh, he must have had the minimum amount but it didn't develop well. A rare case, but your's is even rarer."

Kirito just stared at his cup, "I don't really care about being a ninja, all I want is to be able to protect my family."

Agil laughed, "That's why I like you kid, unlike Klein here, you are a real man."

Klein grew a tickmark, "Oi, what is that supposed to mean?!"

Agil grinned, "I meant that Kirito is a real man and not a creepy old bastard like you."

Klein just grumbled as the others laughed.

Later at night, Kirito was cooking dinner when the four girls entered the apartment. Kirito grinned, "Hey girls."

The girls only replied vaguely as the four of them slumped onto the sofa.

As Kirito finished cooking, he said, "Food's ready."

The girls tiredly sat down onto the table as they all said, "Itadakimasu."

Kirito saw the tired faces and asked, "What's wrong?"

Hikari groaned, "Iruka-sensei is a slave driver. He made us fight in an all out taijutsu only battle royale and an obstacle course after his stupid lectures."

Sinon glared at the blonde slightly, "At least you lasted long, my taijutsu is still lacking."

Asuna giggled tiredly, "Well, at least it didn't go that bad. Besides, Iruka-sensei's talks aren't that bad."

Suguha grumbled, "You won the matches and completed the obstacle course easily. Besides, you and Hinata are probably the only two people who like his lectures."

Kirito chuckled, "Just bear with it, you only have one more year. Think of it as building character."

Sinon sighed, "Easy for you to say, you're already out of the academy. Try sitting in one of Iruka-sensei's classes."

Kirito chuckled, "Maybe not."

They continued eating before Kirito spoke, "By the way, I'm thinking of renovating our apartment. No one is staying beside us, so I am thinking of buying it and expanding it."

The girls stared at the boy. Asuna asked, "Do we even have the money?"

Kirito grinned, "Of course, I've been saving up from the money Kayaba-sensei and Teuchi-ojisan gave me. Plus with our weekly allowances, I can buy a larger house, but buying the apartment beside ours and combining them is better."

The girls nodded. Hikari said, "Well, for now you're the one who controls the money, so go ahead. It won't hurt to have more space after all."

Suguha and Sinon nodded in agreement. Kirito nodded, "Okay, I'll ask Hokage-sama about it then."

(Timeskip a year later. This will probably be the last 'year' timeskip in a while)

Kirito had bought the apartment and renovated the whole apartment. Now, everyone had their own rooms, with two toilets, a larger living room with a larger sofa and a bigger kitchen with tables.

They were now 16 and the current batch were almost graduating. In the girls' class, a new teacher had joined in as Iruka's assistant, a man named Mizuki.

The teacher obviously hated Hikari and didn't do a good job hiding it. He had tried to discredit the girl every chance he could, and it did more harm than good for himself. As a result, just about the whole academy's populace disliked the teacher and pranked him whenever they could.

Now, the five of them were having breakfast. Kirito said as he swallowed a mouthful of bread, "You girls are taking the graduation test today, right?"

The girls nodded and Hikari said worriedly, "I still can't do the Bunshin no jutsu. I hope Iruka-sensei let's me pass."

Suguha assured the girl, "You will pass, your results are more than enough."

Sinon and Asuna nodded. Kirito grinned, "Don't worry, last year, a guy who couldn't use chakra passed. I'm sure you can do it."

Hikari smiled, feeling a bit more confident, "Thanks guys."

After finishing the food, Kirito got up and grabbed moved to the door, "Well, I wish you all good luck. I want to see those headbands later."

With that the teen left the apartment for his shop. The girls quickly cleaned up and headed for the academy.

As Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha reached their class, they entered to the familiar sight of their classmates. Ino and Sakura were still arguing over Sasuke. Shikamaru was sleeping, Shino and Kiba were talking to Hinata who was petting Akamaru while Sasuke just stared at the window. The other students just sat around and talked.

The four girls went for their seats just as Iruka and Mizuki walked in. The class quickly quieted down as the scarred man spoke, "Good morning class, so today we'll be doing your graduation test. I bid you all good luck."

The man paused a bit before he said, "So, we will be doing the written test first, then the taijutsu test, the genjutsu test and the ninjutsu test."

Iruka nodded to Mizuki who started distributing the papers, "We will now give you the papers, do not open them until I say so."

Meanwhile, Kirito had just finished opening his shop and was about to work on cleaning a kodachi.

As he cleaned the sword, he noticed Agil walking in with a serious face. Kirito asked, "What's up?"

Agil said seriously, "Kirito, I think you'd want to hear this."

The dark-skinned man took out a recorder, "This was from one of my informants around the village. He knows about you and your four girls and recorded this."

Agil played the recorder as Mizuki's voice came out, " _Today I will get the scroll, I will also use the demon for it. Don't worry, I will definitely deliver it._

Another voice replied, " _You better deliver. I do not care what happens to the Jinchurikii, at least not anymore. If need be, kill the girl. We want no witnesses."_

Mizuki's voice replied and Kirito could hear his smugness, " _Of course. Orochimaru-sama will definitely get the scroll and I will finally kill that bitch._ "

The recording ended and Agil looked at Kirito, "So, what will you do? Tell the Hokage?"

Kirito nodded with a dark look, "I will, but not before I butcher that bastard. Help me send the recording to Hokage-sama, will you?"

He quickly scribbled a note, "And pass this to him too."

Agil nodded, "Sure, but what will you do?"

Kirito smirked, "I'm gonna get ready."

Back with the test, the class was starting to do the ninjutsu test. Everyone had passed the previous tests easily.

Iruka spoke, "Okay, we'll start according to your names. Aburame Shino."

The teen nodded and went in before coming out with a headband after a while. Iruka nodded and said, "Asada Sinon."

The girl stood up and gave her friends a smile and went in. A while later, she came out with a headback around her neck.

Hikari gave the brunette a thumbs up as Iruka continued to call names.

After a few names, Iruka spoke, "Kirigaya Suguha."

The girl stood up and went in before she came out with a headband soon after, also placed around her neck.

After a while, Iruka said, "Uzumaki Hikari."

The girl nervously stood up before Asuna said, "Hikari-chan, you can do it."

The blonde looked at her friends and nodded, "Wish me luck."

She then went in. Iruka nodded at one of his best students, "Hikari-chan, so for the ninjutsu test, you will need to do four jutsu, one of your own choosing, the Henge no jutsu, the Kawarimi no jutsu and the Bunshin no jutsu."

Hikari nodded and did the Teppodama with ease. She then did both basic jutsu with ease. But when she did the Bunshin no Jutsu, Mizuki smirked and casted a subtle genjutsu on the unsuspecting Iruka before he flashed through handsigns and thought, 'Chakra chuudan no jutsu.'

The girl finished the last handsign for the clone jutsu and channeled chakra through her hands. Then for a short moment, she felt her chakra go haywire and a sick clone came out.

Hikari sighed in disappoint and looked at Iruka hopefully. But his next words caused everything crashing down, "I'm sorry, Hikari, but you fail."

Mizuki was smirking as Hikari walked out of the class. The man then casted another genjutsu on Iruka, a stronger one on top of the weaker one he casted earlier.

Mizuki then walked back to the class as Iruka walked out of the room to Hikari.

Mizuki walked into the class and said, "Well, congratulations everyone. You all passed. Iruka had something to do, so he'll come back later."

The man started to talk about useless shit of being a ninja etc. Asuna, Suguha and Sinon all shared worried looks as they didn't see Hikari.

Meanwhile, Hikari sat on the swing outside of the academy. She wanted to cry, she just lost her chance at advancing with her friends. The girl wondered if this was how Kirito felt when he found out he couldn't be a ninja.

As the girl sulked, she heard Iruka's voice, "Hikari, I'm sorry for failing you. You're one of my best students. I hate to see you not pass."

Hikari felt a bit hopeful as she looked at Iruka, "You mean?"

The man nodded, "Just for you, I'll set up a different test for you."

He passed her a slip, "Open this when you leave home at 10pm. I'll meet you in the forest, the specifics are all there."

Hikari beamed and took the slip, failing to notice the glazed look on her teacher.

Later, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha all exited the academy to see Hikari waiting for them. Sinon asked, "Are you fine, Hikari-chan?"

Hikari gave them a smile, "I'm fine. Everything is gonna be fine."

Suguha asked again, "Are you sure?"

The blonde nodded, "I'll tell you later at home."

The four nodded and left for their apartment. As soon as they left, Sasuke came out of the academy, looking for Hikari. He sighed in disappointment as he couldn't find her and he didn't know where she stayed.

Meanwhile, Kirito was standing in front of the Hokage. Hiruzen sighed, "This is indeed troublesome. I have no doubt Hikari could pass, but to think Mizuki is a traitor."

Kirito nodded, "Permission to kill him, sir?"

Hiruzen looked at the teen and nodded, "Go ahead, even if I didn't, I'm sure you would do it anyways."

Kirito looked serious, "He threatened Hikari-chan."

The old Hokage nodded, "Indeed he did, and he also manipulated the test scores and casted a genjutsu on Iruka."

Kirito stayed silent as the Hokage continued, "You're not a ninja, at least not one of the normal way, so for now I'll give you missions loosely so you can manage your shop. This will be your first one. I'll tell the Anbu to form a border around the area."

Kirito nodded and turned to leave the Hokage's office.

Back at the apartment, Hikari sat down on the sofa, "Iruka-sensei said because I couldn't do the Bunshin, he needs to give me another test. So I'm doing it at night."

Asuna blinked, "I've never heard of a test like that?"

Suguha let out a breath, "Well, at least Hikari-chan can pass."

Sinon nodded, "But didn't you notice Iruka-sensei seemed a bit... off?"

Asuna nodded, "He seemed to be distracted or something. Probably the thing Mizuki-sensei said."

The girls just nodded. The door then opened to reveal Kirito. The boy greeted, "I'm back."

The girls greeted the teen as he sat on the couch, "So, how did it go?"

Hikari smiled, "Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan passed. I couldn't do the Bunshin no jutsu so I'll be taking another test at night."

Kirito nodded, "I see. Good luck then. I have a project due tomorrow, so after dinner I'm heading back to the shop, you girls don't need to wait for me, I mighy be back after midnight."

The girls nodded. Asuna said, "Just don't overwork, you need rest too."

Kirito grinned, "Of course, don't worry."

Later, after dinner, Kirito had left the apartment for his shop. The teen entered the shop and put on his coat and strapped on his swords to his back. Then he just sat there and waited for time to pass.

With Hikari, she had left the apartment and was near the Hokage's tower. She opened the slip and saw instructions in it. The girl carefully followed them until she reached the destination, a huge scroll named the Forbidden Scroll.

Hikari looked around for guards before she took the scroll and quickly moved out of the building as she headed for the rendezvous point in the forest.

As soon as she reached the place, she looked around and saw that no one was there. The Uzumaki looked at the huge scroll and became curious. Carefully setting it down, Hikari opened the scroll and started to read.

A while later, Mizuki arrived to see Hikari reading the scroll. He tch'd before he spoke, "Hikari, well done."

The girl blinked and looked at the man, "Mizuki-sensei? What are you doing here? Where's Iruka-sensei?"

Mizuki stood on the branch and replied, "He had an errand, so I came instead. I've gotta say, I'm impressed, even if I don't like you."

Hikari beamed, "So do I pass? Where's my headband?"

Mizuki grinned, "You pass. And you'll get your headband later, in the afterlife!"

The man unsealed a fuuma shuriken and flung it at the girl. If it wasn't for her quick reflexes, Hikari would have been killed. The girl yelled, "What was that for?!"

Mizuki growled, "Shut up, demon. I've tolerated your existence long enough. You act like you're one of us, even taking the form of a cute girl. You might have fooled everyone, but not me!"

The man drew a katana, "You ever know why people hated you in the beginning? Why everyone called you a demon?"

Hikari flinched as she backed away, completely ignoring the scroll. Mizuki smirked, "That's because you're a demon, you're THE DEMON! You were born on 10th of October, I'm sure you know what date that was."

Hikari paled, "No... shut up..."

Mizuki's smirk widened, "That's right! You are the Kyuubi itself! YOU were the one who killed all those people, YOU were the ones who caused all those kids to be orphaned! Especially that family of yours! I wonder if they would care for you if they found out?"

Hikari fell to the floor as she started to hyperventilate. Mizuki jumped to the floor and punched the girl hard in the face. He gripped her hair and slapped her in the cheeks hard.

The man then raised his sword, "I would have had a little fun with that cute body of yours, but then I remember you're the Kyuubi, so just DIE!"

The girl waited for the sword to pierce her. But it never came. Instead, she fell to the floor, and in front of her stood a figure with a black coat. The girl started to lose consciousness as Kirito came to mind.

The teen cursed as he noticed Hikari on the floor, "I was almost too late."

Kirito glared at the man in front of him, "Mizuki. You just made a big mistake."

The man glared at the boy, holding his sword hand, "A mistake? I was close to being a hero! I was going to finish what the Yondaime Hokage started!"

Kirito glared at the worm in front of him and slowly drew the Elucidator from its sheath, the black sword gleaming dangerously under the moonlight, "You threatened one of my family. You hurted her. For that, you deserve death. No, you deserve more than that."

In a flash of red, Mizuki found Kirito in front of him, sword poised to strike. The Chuunin barely had enough time to raise his sword as Kirito swung his blade.

As the blades met, a piece of Mizuki's katana flew off as Kirito's black blade sliced through the traitor's sword easily.

Kirito huffed, "That wasn't even worth calling a sword. A piece of scrap metal."

Mizuki growled and threw the hilt away and drew a fuuma shuriken. The traitor swung the shuriken like a sword at Kirito.

The teen stood still as the shuriken came down. Then, to the shock of Mizuki, Kirito raised his left hand... and grabbed the shuriken firmly as it came down.

The teen stared at the man coldly, "You should have thought twice when you chose to use Hikari-chan."

Kirito ripped the shuriken off of Mizuki's hold and threw it away. Kirito then drew his sword back as it glowed light blue. The teen brought the sword down vertically and sliced off Mizuki's left arm.

Kirito then drew his sword back again. The Elucidator started to glow sky blue and Kirito moved.

The teen swung his sword from the right to the left, leaving a gash on Mizuki's chest. He then brought the sword back and slashed again, leaving another gash on the traitor's chest.

Using the momentum, Kirito started to spin around Mizuki, unleashing another slash on Mizuki's abdomen before he unleashed a final slash on Mizuki's back.

The four slashes on Mizuki's body glowed and unleashed a square of pure energy from the traitor's body.

Kirito flicked the blood off his sword and sheathed it, "Horizontal Square."

As soon as the square disappeared, Mizuki's body fell apart onto the ground.

Kirito sighed and quickly went to pick roll up the scroll, noticing that Hikari had bebeen reading it. He sealed the scroll into one of his pocket seals and picked Hikari up.

Spreading his wings, the teen flew towards the Hokage tower.

XXX

Done. So the next chapter will be a talk with the Hokage. Team placements and so on. Review please.

Just a list of skills Kirito used this chapter :

Vertical

Horizontal Square


	5. Chapter 5

YO!!! **Krecier** , yes, the Hokage will have more power but he will not misuse it of course. The teams are already set, and sorry but Kirito will NOT be on a team with the girls... at least not yet.

XXX

Kirito stood in front of Hiruzen. Hikari was slumped on one of the chairs, still unconscious.

He stared at the old man, "Hokage-sama, mission accomplished."

He brought the scroll out of his seal and placed it standing on the floor. Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction, "Good job. By the way, you heard Mizuki, didn't you?"

Kirito stared at the old Hokage before looking at Hikari, "About Hikari-chan being the Kyuubi?"

Hiruzen nodded, "I just want to make it clear, she is NOT the Kyuubi, she is its Jinchurikii. Hikari holds back the Kyuubi from the village, she is a hero."

Kirito stared at Hiruzen, "I knew that already. Kayaba-sensei told me a lot of things."

Hiruzen sighed, "I see."

Kirito nodded, "I still and will always care for her. Besides, when were you going to tell her?"

Hiruzen turned and looked out of the window, "I was going to tell her after she became gennin, and her heritage after she became chunnin. But with all this happening..."

Kirito stared at the Hokage, "So you do know who her parents are?"

The Hokage blinked in surprise as he realized he let it slip. The monkey summoner sighed, "Yes, I always knew. But you have to understand, her parents had and still have a lot of enemies, if word gets out who her parents are, those enemies will come."

Kirito stared at the Hokage coldly, "And you didn't think the village could protect her? That you couldn't protect her?"

Hiruzen sighed, "Yes. I'm old, Kirito-kun. I'm not the Professor, not anymore. The village is recovering from the Kyuubi attack, but we cannot withstand a war. I swear, when Hikari-chan becomes a Chuunin, I will tell her."

Kirito huffed, "And if you don't make it?"

Hiruzen stared at the teen sternly, "Who do you think I am, boy? I am the Sandaime Hokage. I can hold until she becomes a Jounin."

Kirito held his gaze, "Anything can happen. Only god knows what can happen."

Hiruzen and Kirito stared at each other, both not faltering in the slightest. Frankly Hiruzen was impressed, it just showed how far Kirito had come and how strong the boy was.

The old man chuckled, "Fine. If I do not make it before she makes Chuunin, give her this."

He took out a file and placed it on the table. Hiruzen then stared at Kirito hard, "Do not, under any circumstances, give her this before she becomes Chuunin, swear to me."

Kirito sighed and nodded, "Fine. I swear on my pride as a swordsman, a blacksmith and my swords that I will NOT give Hikari-chan the file before she becomes Chuunin."

Hiruzen nodded, "Good. I will transfer the money to your account, congratulations on your first A ranked mission by the way. Its very late, you should go home, bring Hikari-chan with you too."

Kirito nodded, "Got it."

Hiruzen then spoke, "Before you go, give Hikari-chan this. I know very well she has passed the exams. She learned a jutsu from the scroll after all."

The Hokage placed a headband on the table, which Kirito took and slid into his pocket and nodded.

He then picked up Hikari bridal style as he walked to the door. Hiruzen called out, "Tell Hikari-chan I'm sorry, and tell her that she can tell those she deems trustworthy about her status as a Jinchurikii."

The teen nodded and walked out of the door and the Hokage tower.

As he walked through the empty night streets, he heard Hikari's voice, "Did you mean it?"

Kirito stopped and looked down to see Hikari awake, staring at him. The teen asked, "You were awake?"

Hikari nodded, "Only when Hokage-jiisan mentioned me being a Jinchurikii. I fell asleep after that."

The blonde then looked at the boy, "Did you mean it?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, no matter what, I will always be by your side. I will definitely protect you."

Hikari giggled, "But you're not even a ninja, shouldn't it be the other way around?"

Kirito chuckled, "Maybe. So, are you going to tell Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan?"

Hikari looked away, "Maybe, maybe not. It could be our secret, ya know?"

Kirito chuckled, "Its your choice. Come on, let's go home."

Hikari nodded, "Okay."

Kirito continued to walk as Hikari snuggled into him, the girl blushing slightly when she realized their current position.

As they walked, Kirito said, "Hokage-sama said you passed the graduation exams. We know you learned jutsu from the scroll."

Hikari blushed and looked away, "Good, at least I still passed."

Kirito chuckled, "Which jutsu was it?"

Hikari blushed slightly, "The Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and the Bunshin Daibakuha."

Kirito blinked, "Two jutsu?"

Hikari nodded as Kirito chuckled, "Nice. Good job, I'm proud of you."

Soon, they reached home and at the door, Hikari said, "Okay, you can let me down here."

Kirito nodded and slowly let the blonde down. He then opened the door to see three girls smiling sweetly at them. Asuna asked, "So, Kirito-kun, Hikari-chan, where did you two go?"

After a short while of explanations, Sinon sighed, "So Mizuki-sensei wanted to kill Hikari-chan and steal a forbidden scroll. A friend told Kirito-kun about it and he went to tell the Hokage."

Asuna nodded, "Well, at least no one got hurt much."

Suguha nodded, "Yeah, since it wasn't your fault, we'll let this slide. Let's sleep, its already 3am."

The others nodded. Then Kirito said, "Oh before you girls sleep, Hikari-chan, Hokage-sama said since you passed, he wanted me to give you this headband."

The teen took out a headband from his pocket and gave it to Hikari.

The girls nodded as Hikari took the headband. Then, a while later, as Kirito was preparing to sleep, he heard a knock on his door.

The teen opened it and saw Hikari standing there without her twin-tails. Kirito asked, "What's wrong?"

Hikari's faced turned slightly red, "Umm, thank you, Kirito-kun."

Kirito blinked, "Eh?"

Then before he could say anything else, Hikari kissed him on the cheeks before she ran back to her room.

Kirito blinked several times before he dumbly closed his door and slumped onto his bed.

The next morning, Iruka and Hiruzen were in the Hokage's office. The chunnin apologized, "I'm very sorry, Hokage-sama, because I was careless, we have to go through this all over again."

The Sarutobi chuckled, "Its fine. So, these will be the teams. I changed this year's teams slightly, so we won't have the traditional Rookie of the Year paired with the Kunoichi of the year and the dead last."

The Hokage gave the Chuunin instructor a list as Iruka nodded and took the paper. Iruka bowed, "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

The Chuunin then left and ran for his class.

Meanwhile, in the class, Ino grumbled, "Where is Iruka-sensei?"

Sakura sighed, "Who knows? Why did Hikari have to come? Sasuke-kun has been looking at her for the whole morning. Now he's going to her."

As the whole class chatted, Sasuke stood up and walked over to Hikari. The last Uchiha asked, "Hikari, I'm curious, where did you go after the test? You didn't come back to the class."

Hikari was annoyed that the Uchiha had interrupted her conversation with Asuna, Suguha and Sinon. Regardless, the Uzumaki looked at the Uchiha, "Hokage-jiisan called me to his office for a short while. I went home after that."

Sasuke was intrigued, "The Hokage? Why?"

Hikari sighed, "Its classified. You'd have your head off if I told you."

Sakura walked over, "Not if its Sasuke-kun. He's the last Uchiha."

Sinon stared at the pinkette, "Do you seriously think that?"

Sakura nodded, "Okaa-san said that. She's never wrong."

The whole class wanted to facepalm at her statement. The girl was one of the smartest students yet one of the stupidest people in the class.

Sasuke glared at Sakura, causing her to back away a bit before he looked at Hikari, "Never mind then, I respect your privacy. I do hope that we end up in the same team."

Hikari just nodded as the Uchiha left and sat down. The girl groaned as she turned back to her family, "I sure hope I don't end up in a team with him."

Asuna giggled while Sinon and Suguha just smiled.

A short while later, Iruka entered the class panting slightly. The man said, "Sorry class, I had a little stuff going on. Mizuki apparently tampered with the class results so I had to rearrange the team members with Hokage-sama."

A random student asked, "What happened?"

Iruka let out a breath and said, "Mizuki was a traitor and manipulated the class results. Regardless, Sasuke is still the Rookie of the Year."

Iruka paused a bit, "Okay, I'll be announcing the teams now. Team 1... Team 7 will be Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Hikari. Your teacher will be Hatake Kakashi."

Sakura beamed at Ino but slumped down when she heard Hikari's name, "Why..."

The Uzumaki facepalmed, "I had to jinx it."

Asuna and Suguha giggled, the auburn haired girl smiled at the blonde, "Its okay, its only until you become a Chuunin right? It won't be that long."

Sinon nodded, "Yeah, just bear with it."

Hikari just nodded and slumped onto the table. Iruka then continued, "Team 8 will be Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata and Aburame Shino, your teacher will be Yuhi Kurenai."

Kiba grinned at Hinata and Shino who both nodded at the Inuzuka. They were fine with it since they knew each other quite well.

Iruka then continued, "Team 9 is still active, so we'll skip that. Team 10 will be Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akamichi Chouji, your teacher will be Sarutobi Asuma."

Ino sighed, "As expected, they want to recreate our dads' combination."

Shikamaru shook his head, "Yeah, but its still troublesome. At least we can work together well."

Chouji nodded as Iruka finished, "Finally, team 11, Yuki Asuna, Asada Sinon and Kirigaya Suguha. Your teacher will be Uzuki Yugao."

Hikari glared at the three girls slightly as they laughed a bit. The Uzumaki slammed her head on the desk, "I give up. Kami-sama hates me."

The instructor placed the list down and spoke, "From now on, you all are no longer my students. From now on, we are equals, we are shinobi. You may be Gennin only, but you are still adults. I bid all of you good fortune, may the Will of Fire burn brightly in you."

Iruka let out a breath, "Okay, your Jounin-sensei's should be here soon, wait here. I'm off."

The Chuunin didn't wait for a response and left the room.

Soon, one by one, the Jounin instructors came in to collect their teams, and the teams left were Team 7 and Team 11. As Yugao entered the room, she said, "Team 11?"

Asuna, Suguha and Sinon stood up. Yugao raised an eyebrow, "An all girls team? That's rare, anyways, come with me."

The three girls nodded and followed the purple haired woman. Hikari looked at the three girls, "I'll see you girls later."

The three nodded and walked out of the room. As the three waited, with Sakura bugging Sasuke and said Uchiha looking out of the window, Hikari grumbled inwardly, 'I swear Hokage-jiisan did this. He knows very well I don't like Sasuke and Sakura. I wish Kirito-kun was here.'

After an hour, the door opened to reveal a silver haired masked man. The Hatake eye-smiled, "Hey, you're team 7 right? Sorry, I had a little errand with the blacksmith so I was late."

Sakura glared at the man, "You're late!"

Kakashi raised his hands in a surrendering manner, "Yeah, sorry about that. I had to visit the blacksmith about something and I kinda forgot about this."

Hikari glared at the man, "Whatever, so now what?"

Kakashi put his hands down and said, "Well, since we're all here, might as well just do it here."

The Jounin walked to the seats and sat down, facing his students, "So, I want you to introduce yourselves, your name, what you like, hobbies, the likes."

Sakura raised a hand, "Umm, Kakashi-sensei, can you show us?"

Kakashi stared at the pinkette, "Fine. My name is Hatake Kakashi, I have a favourite food, I like to read. And dreams, well, I have one."

The three 'Gennin' deadpanned at the man. Kakashi chuckled, "Well, since you asked me to go first, you're up pinky."

Sakura nodded, slightly miffled at the nickname, "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like cherries and I like to study. My dream is to..."

She looked at Sasuke blushing a bit. Kakashi sighed and thought, 'A fangirl. This is gonna be troublesome.'

Kakashi nodded, "Blondie, you're up."

Hikari nodded, "I'm Uzumaki Hikari. I like ramen, my family and ramen. Hobbies, pranking, I guess? I haven't really done that in a while. My dream is to protect my family."

Kakashi nodded and Sakura asked, "I thought you're an orphan, Hikari?"

Hikari smiled, "Yeah, no idea who my parents are. But Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan, Sinon-chan and Kirito-kun are my family."

Sakura nodded while Sasuke grunted, the Uchiha feeling annoyed with how she said Kirito's name.

Kakashi nodded and thought, 'Minato-sensei would be proud. I have to make up for my mistakes.'

The cyclops then looked at Sasuke, "Emo, your turn."

Sasuke grunted, "Hnn, my name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like... tomatoes. I have no hobbies, well, training maybe. My dream, no, my _ambition_ , is to kill a certain man."

Kakashi sighed, 'Itachi really did a number on him. Damn it, I'll have to break him out of the avenger mindset. Provided they pass my test.'

Kakashi nodded, "Okay. Good. Now, I just want to tell you that you are not full-fledged Gennin yet."

He waited for it to sink in as the two girls yelled, "What?!"

Kakashi nodded, "The graduation test is just to weed out the ones who can potentially be ninja. The real test, is the one I'm giving you. Meet me at Training Ground 7 tomorrow at 7am. Don't be late, and don't eat breakfast or you'll throw up."

Kakashi stood up, "Well, I'll see you guys. Ciao."

The man vanished via Shunshin. Hikari sighed and stood up to leave. Just as Hikari reached the door, Sasuke spoke, "Hikari, would you join me for lunch? Its about lunchtime now."

Hikari wanted to outright say no, but she wasn't that bad. So she turned and gave an apologetic smile, a fake one of course, "Sorry, but I promised Kirito-kun and the girls I'd have lunch with them. So I'm going to his shop now. Maybe some other time."

Sasuke sighed and nodded, "Fine."

The blonde nodded and left the door. Sakura then asked as the two were alone in the class, "Umm, Sasuke-kun, we can eat lunch if you want?"

The Uchiha just walked to the door, "My appetite's gone. Maybe tomorrow."

Sakura growled, "Damn it, Hikari."

She then brightened up, "Wait, he said maybe tomorrow..."

The girl then fist pumped, "Yes! I might have a chance!"

So for a good 10 minutes, Sakura cheered in the class before she finally left the class after realizing she was alone.

Meanwhile, with team 11. Yugao and the three girls were sitting in a dango restaurant.

The former Anbu spoke, "Okay, we'll do the introductions first. I know about you a little, but you know nothing of me. So I'll start."

The girls nodded as Yugao started, "I'm Uzuki Yugao. I'm a former Anbu. I like to cook and spend time with my boyfriend. I like sweet stuff and my dream is to see my boyfriend to be healthy."

Asuna asked, "Is he sick?"

Yugao nodded, "Yes, very sick. So, Asuna, right? You're next."

Asuna nodded, "Okay, I'm Yuki Asuna. I like to cook, and sweet things too. My dream is to protect our family."

Yugao nodded, "Good, Sinon, you're next."

The brunette nodded, "My name is Asada Sinon. I like to read books. I like coffee. My dream, like Asuna-chan, is to protect our family."

Yugao nodded, "Okay, Suguha."

The black haired girl said, "My name is Kirigaya Suguha. I like to spend time with my family and I like sandwiches. My dream, like Asuna-chan and Sinon-chan, is also to protect our family."

Yugao nodded, "I noticed that the three of you said 'our family'."

The girls smiled as Asuna said, "Well, we all live together, Sinon-chan, Suguha-chan, Hikari-chan, Kirito-kun and I. We're basically family since we lived in the orphanage before we got kicked out."

Yugao blinked and decided not to pry, "Okay."

The Jounin cleared her throat, "Okay. So I'll just say this once, don't interrupt me, normally I'd have to test you before you can really be gennin."

The girls nodded as the woman continued, "I've seen your records, even if they are based on academy students' stats, I can guess how good you girls are. I also know that three of you can work well together. So, I'll just skip the test."

The three girls nodded. Yugao then said, "I've been wanting to train a kenjutsu team. Unfortunately, no one is interested so I cannot do it. So, I want to ask, are you three interested?"

The girls shared looks, Asuna spoke, "Well, Suguha-chan and I have been meaning to pick up kenjutsu."

Yugao nodded and looked at Sinon. The girl shook her head, "I'm not against it, but I'm bad at close combat, so I was hoping to learn archery."

The swordswoman nodded, "Archery isn't common among shinobi, but that might actually work for us. I'm a swordswoman, and if Asuna and Suguha pick up swordsplay, we will be over focused on close combat. If you take up a bow, it can balance things out."

The girls nodded as Yugao swallowed a piece of dango, "Okay. So you girls take the day off. Tomorrow morning, I'll bring you three to one of the blacksmiths in the village."

The girls nodded as Yugao stood up. The instructor spoke, "Well, I'll see you girls tomorrow."

The former Anbu then left the shop while the three girls left to go home.

Later, when Kirito closed the shop and reached home, he entered the apartment to see the three girls finish cooking.

The teen asked, "So what happened for you girls to cook?"

Asuna turned and smiled, "Well, we had some time today, so we decided to cook."

Suguha nodded, "Yeah, Kirito-kun you've been working everyday and cooking after you graduated. So we thought we'd do the cooking tonight."

Sinon nodded, "Besides, we just met with our Jounin-sensei's today and did nothing else."

Kirito nodded, "Okay then."

The girls quickly cleaned up and placed the food on the table. Kirito blinked, "Curry chicken, fried salmon, miso soup, spinach and rice. You girls went with the traditional stuff."

Asuna smiled, "Well, its been a while since Hikari-chan ate something that's not ramen. You spoil her too much ya know?"

Hikari pouted cutely, "Hey! Ramen is the food of the gods!"

Kirito chuckled, "Well, I did learn under a ramen chef. So, who are your teachers?"

Hikari sighed, "A guy named Kakashi. Seriously, Hokage-jiisan must like messing with me. I mean, the guy seems fine, but he had to put me on a team with Sasuke and Sakura! I mean why couldn't he put me on a team with someone else?! Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan are on the same team!"

Kirito chuckled, "I see... Kakashi huh."

The man thought, 'What a coincidence? Maybe I can use this.'

(Flashback early that day.)

Kirito was finishing a set of shuriken when he heard someone enter his shop. He stored the shuriken and walked to the counter to see Kakashi standing there.

Kirito greeted, "Kakashi-san, so, what do you need?"

The cyclops eye-smiled, "Well, I went to Akihiko-san to fix my tanto, but he just told me to come to you."

Kirito tilted his head, "Tanto? I didn't know you used a sword."

Kakashi chuckled, "I did, but the sword broke and I didn't really bother to fix it until now."

The man took out a pouch to reveal a broken tanto. Kirito easily recognized the sword, "The White Light Chakra Saber..."

Kakashi nodded, "Yes. Can you fix it?"

Kirito nodded, "Of course, but the materials needed are quite pricey."

Kakashi nodded, "I don't care about the price, just fix it."

The teen took the broken blade and inspected the pieces, "Okay, I'll fix it. I'll have to think about the price though. Meet me tomorrow and we'll talk about the price."

Kakashi nodded, "I'll leave the sword here. I have something to do."

Kirito nodded as he studied the sword while Kakashi left the shop.

(Flashback end)

Kirito nodded, "Kakashi-san is not a bad man. He's known as the Copy Ninja since he has an artificially transplanted Sharingan. Rumor has it he has copied over a thousand jutsu from around the Elemental Nations."

The girls OH'd in awe. Hikari said, impressed, "Wow, who knew..."

Kirito chuckled, "He's also the Yondaime Hokage's student, the only one alive apparently. I think Sasuke was placed under him because of his Sharingan while you and Sakura were by chance."

The young man thought differently, 'Hokage-sama must have wanted him to get close to Hikari-chan... being her father's student and stuff. No doubt he knows that too.'

Kirito then looked at the other girls, "So, who's your teacher?"

Asuna replied, "A woman named Uzuki Yugao."

Kirito blinked, "Yugao? Well that's a coincidence..."

Sinon blinked, "You know her? She did say she'd bring us to a blacksmith tomorrow though."

Kirito nodded, "Yugao-san is one of Kayaba-sensei's regular customers. So I met her some time ago. So you're probably going to his shop."

He thought inside, 'Well, she is one of _my_ regular customers now, but eh, it'd be fun to see their reactions tomorrow.'

The three girls nodded in response as Kirito spoke, "Well, good luck with your tasks tomorrow then."

The girls nodded before Kirito remembered and said, "By the way, Hikari-chan, you're taking Kakashi's test right?"

The blonde nodded as the teen continued, "Tomorrow morning, eat a good breakfast and go to the meeting place three hours late."

Hikari blinked, "Why?"

Kirito grinned, "That man has next to no punctuality. If its not missions that are important, he will always be late for three hours. A lot of people have even betted that he'd be late for his own funeral."

The girls blinked several times before Sinon asked, "And how do you know?"

Kirito chuckled, "I run a blacksmith and there is a cafe beside my shop. You learn a lot of things here and there. Besides, I'm planning to bring you girls there some time."

The girls nodded as Kirito continued, "Anyways, Kakashi will most probably do the bell-test. He'll show you two bells, tell you that you need to get a bell to pass and let you have a headstart. Convince your teammates to work together and you'll pass, regardless if you get a bell or not."

Hikari nodded, "So he wants to test our teamwork."

Kirito nodded, "That man's motto is that 'Those who abandon rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.' So remember that."

The teen then looked at Asuna, Sinon and Suguha, "Yugao-san has been wanting to get a team to teach them kenjutsu, so she'll probably not care about the test. Besides, she's a former Anbu, I don't know what test she'll use."

The three girls blinked several times as Suguha said, "Umm, actually, you're right, she just said that she'd bring us to a blacksmith tomorrow and not test us."

Sinon stared at the boy, "Seriously, how do you know these things? Its creepy you know?"

Kirito chuckled, "I told you, you'd be surprised at the info you can get in a cafe."

Asuna sighed and nodded, "Well, the food's getting cold. We should finish it."

The others didn't need another word and quickly continued eating.

The next morning, Kirito had left for his shop early while the girls prepared for their day.

In his shop, he saw Kakashi entering and said, "Kakashi-san, Ohaiyo."

The cyclops waved and asked, "So, how much will you charge me for the sword?"

Kirito nodded and asked, "Kakashi-san, you're the Yondaime Hokage's student right?"

Kakashi blinked a few times and nodded, "Indeed I am, why?"

Kirito continued, "You know the Rasengan and the Hiraishin no Jutsu?"

Kakashi felt weary and answered, "I know the Rasengan, but I know nothing of the Hiraishin. Why? You're not asking me to teach you right?"

Kirito laughed, "Nah, perish that thought, I can't use chakra the way normal shinobi do. No, Uzumaki Hikari is your student right?"

Kakashi stared at the teen, "Yes, why?"

Kirito grinned, "I'll fix your sword in three days. I already have the materials ready, but I'll only do it on one condition."

Kakashi stared at the teen and he had an idea what Kirito wanted, "Name it."

Kirito's grin widened, "Teach Hikari-chan the Rasengan and the Chidori, and I'll fix your sword, no extra charges."

Kakashi stared at the teen skeptically, he was actually hoping to have Jiraiya teach the girl her birthright. The cyclops was also sure that it'd cost him a fortune to fix the blade, but here was Kirito, willing to fix the blade just to get him to teach the girl the Rasengan and the Chidori.

The man nodded, "Deal. I'll teach her the Rasengan and the Chidori, you fix my sword in three days."

Kirito nodded, "Cool, I'll get started then. Come back in three days."

Kakashi nodded and left the shop as Kirito went to fix the blade.

XXX

Done. So review please. The next chapter will be the bell test and Kirito will fix the White Light Chakra saber. He will also forge Asuna, Suguha and Sinon's weapons.

As for Hikari, I don't think I'll give her a weapon. But I'm all for suggestions. And I'm keeping Hikari's heritage and status as Jinchurikii a secret from the other girls until the Wave arc. I have a little idea for that, just in case you're curious.

So yeah. Until the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys... to **Krecier** , yes, I might go with that since I'm not sure about giving Hikari a weapon other than that. To Jiraiya, I respect him for being strong, and I know it was all for character development, but Jiraiy could have stopped by to visit Naruto in cannon. And yes, those things are fun to do, so I will add them in.

To **SGT.Worley** , true, I haven't seen many fics with Naruto/Naruko learning the Chidori. So I will do it here.

Anyways, lets go.

XXX

As Kirito readied the materials to reforge and fix the tanto, Kakashi arrived at the training field exactly three hours from the time he gave the team.

The cyclops noticed Sakura and Sasuke having bloodshot eyes while Hikari looked absolutely fine.

The last Uchiha glared at the man while Sakura growled, "You're late."

Kakashi chuckled, "Sorry, I had to visit the blacksmith for something and a black cat crossed my path. Then, an old lady was carrying a lot of things and she asked me to help her, I couldn't say no."

Hikari just deadpanned at his excuses while Sasuke and Sakura looked like they wanted to kill him.

Kakashi sighed, "Okay, let's get started."

The famed Copy nin took out a pair of bells, "Your task will be to take these bells from me. Whoever gets a bell passes."

Sakura asked, "But there are only two bells, Kakashi-sensei, does that mean?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, whoever doesn't, fails and gets sent back to the academy. You will have two chances. If you fail for the first time, the worst performing student will get tied up to those poles and will not have lunch."

The man took out three bento and placed them onto the poles, "Just so we're clear, the third one is mine. I only had enough ingredients to make three."

He grinned as he heard Sakura and Sasuke's stomach rumble. Then he frowned and stared at Hikari, "You ate breakfast, didn't you?"

Hikari smiled, "I have no idea what you're talking about, sensei."

Kakashi sighed and thought, 'Kirito no doubt, that little bastard told her. Whatever, I can work with this.'

Kakashi sighed, "Nevermind."

He then placed a clock on the bento boxes, "You will have two hours to get the bells from me. Come at me with the intention to kill, or you won't even touch me. Your time, starts... now."

He slammed the alarm clock and started it as all three of his students vanished with impressive speed.

Kakashi mused aloud, "Rule number one, always stay hidden."

No one replied and the Hatake chuckled, "At least they got that part down."

The Jounin easily spotted them all around him but decided not to judge since they were still Gennin. Kakashi nodded, "Okay, let's play a little hide and seek then."

The man then walked in the opposite direction of where they were.

As Kakashi moved, Hikari slowly moved towards Sasuke. She knew of the Uchiha's infatuation with her and it disgusted her, but she needed to pass the test if she was to protect her family and become Hokage.

Soon, she reached where Sasuke was. The girl whispered, "Sasuke, hey."

The Uchiha looked and nodded at the girl, "Hikari."

Hikari whispered, "Listen, I did a little research on Kakashi-sensei. His bell-test is a test for teamwork. We don't need to get a bell to pass."

Sasuke stared at the girl, "Are you sure?"

The Uzumaki nodded, "Why would he use two bells and two bento boxes for us? He wants to make us work against each other."

Sasuke nodded, "That makes sense. Fine, I'll work with you."

Hikari smiled, "Good, now we need to find Sakura."

Sasuke grunted and nodded. Then, they heard a loud scream coming from ahead of them. Hikari facepalmed, "Well, I think we found her."

Sasuke nodded as they quickly headed for the area.

Moments earlier, Sakura (still long haired btw) was hiding behind some bushes. For a Gennin, she was doing decently, but because of her hair and clothes, it gave her away easily.

Kakashi appeared behind the unsuspecting girl and gently tapped her shoulder, "Hello, fancy meeting you here."

The girl turned slowly to see Kakashi's eye-smiling face and paled. The man spoke, "If it wasn't for your pink clothing and hair, I wouldn't have found you, ya know?"

Sakura tried to run away but Kakashi grabbed her shoulder and threw her to the ground. The man then flashed through a series of handsigns, "Lets start with our first lesson, Genjutsu."

The man then finished his seals as Sakura saw Kakashi disappear, in his place was a dead Sasuke with his head on the floor.

The girl shrieked, "Sasuke-kun!!!!"

Then she fainted. Kakashi sighed as he massaged his ears, "Damn, the famed Haruno screech. I swear they have some kind of jutsu for that."

He cracked his neck, "One down, two to go."

He then vanished via Shunshin. A few moments later, Hikari and Sasuke arrived to see the unconscious Sakura there.

Hikari deadpanned, "Genjutsu."

Sasuke nodded, "Genjutsu."

The girl then stared at the Uchiha expectedly. Sasuke asked, "What?"

Hikari point at Sakura, "Wake her up. I'm not touching her, besides, you're the only one who can convince her."

The Uchiha sighed, "Fine."

Sasuke nudged the girl several times before she woke up, "S-sasuke-kun?"

Sakura beamed and hugged him tightly, "You're alive!!!"

Sasuke tried to get her off of him, "Yeah. Now let go. It was probably just a genjutsu."

Sakura reluctantly let go as Hikari sighed, "And tone it down, you're too loud and Kakashi-sensei probably knows we're all here."

Sakura glared at the Uzumaki and was about to say something before Sasuke stared at her, causing her to stay silent.

The Uchiha nodded, "Okay, according to Hikari, we need to work together to pass. Kakashi-sensei has the odds against us passing together to make us work against each other. All we need, is to show him teamwork. Any plans?"

Hikari stared at Sakura, "You're the smartest one here."

Sakura nodded and thought for a while. She then snapped her fingers, "Got it. Kakashi-sensei is a Jounin and we are just academy students, so we'll be underestimated a lot."

The two stronger Gennin nodded as Sakura continued, "Hikari, we'll need you to act as a decoy, I'll do it too. We'll get his attention. We'll also need traps, set them around the area and lure him there. Sasuke-kun can charge in, act like you want to take the bell and lure him there after we distract him for a bit."

Sakura then said, "We need efficient traps, Hikari used to play pranks right?"

The girl grinned, "Its been a while since I made traps, but let's do it."

The three nodded and they went to work. Hikari made use of ninja wire, kunai, shuriken and anything she could use, arming half of the field with binding traps.

Sasuke slowly moved through the trees to the standby point while Sakura readied her kunai and shuriken.

Hikari finished setting the final trap and grinned, "Okay, done. Now, its show time."

At 11.30am, Kakashi sighed as he walked around, "They have half an hour left and they still haven't acted. Are they scared?"

As if on cue, Hikari shot straight out of the bushes and charges the man. Kakashi glanced at her, "Oh, finally someone comes."

The copy ninja grinned, "Lesson one, taijutsu."

The man moved to intercept Hikari, but then she did something that he totally never expected.

The girl grinned and crossed her fingers, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Instantly, a hundred clones appeared, surrounding him. Kakashi nearly popped his eyes out, "What the fuck?! These are genuine Kage Bunshin, how?!"

The two other teens blinked, Sasuke asked aloud, "Clones?"

Sakura had a similar sentiment as she readied her weapons.

Then, all of the clones charged the Jounin. For a very brief moment, Kakashi was overwhelmed by the number of clones.

The man was punched, kicked, elbowed, every type of attack hit him full force with the will of a female Uzumaki.

Kakashi quickly regained balance and spun, kicking away the first few clones before he started to take down the clones one by one.

Then, all the clones charged the man at once. Hikari leaped away and smirked, "Bunshin Daibakuha!"

The few dozen remaining clones glowed. Kakashi's eyes widened as the clones all exploded at the same time.

The two other gennin looked in shock. Sasuke thought, 'She was this strong?! I must learn those jutsu!'

Sakura thought in envy, 'She's so strong... How can I ever match up to her?'

As smoke and dust covered the area, Kakashi shot out of the cloud coughing, 'I told them to come at me with the intent to kill, but to think she took it this far!'

Hikari grinned at Sakura who nodded and started bombarding Kakashi with kunai and shuriken. The man cursed as he twisted around in the air, dodging the flying projectiles before he substituted with a log.

Upon reaching the ground, Kakashi's eyes widened as he was met with the sight of Sasuke charging with his hands extended. Kakashi quickly leaped into the air before he realized it was a mistake.

Sasuke flashed through handseals and placed his right hand at his mouth, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

A huge fireball shot towards Kakashi who thought, 'What the fuck?! Hikari I understand, but Sasuke?!'

He substituted with another log and landed on the ground. Then, Kakashi realized he had stepped on some wire, "Oh shit."

Without warning, a dozen kunai and shuriken shot out of the trees as Kakashi dodged them easily. The man was so busy dodging the projectiles he almost failed to notice the thin ninja wires attached to them... but he was too late.

In an instant, the man was tied up in wires. To make things worse, he stumbled and fell to the ground.

The three gennin walked up to their teacher as Hikari took the bells off of the man. The girl grinned, "We win, Kakashi-sensei."

Just then, the alarm rang as Kakashi sighed, "I guess so."

The man substituted with a log and appeares in front of the three. Kakashi then looked at Hikari, "So, who gets the bell? You have two, one of them must go."

Hikari looked at the two of them and threw the bell back at Kakashi who caught them easily, "None of us are going back. Besides, the test wasn't really about getting a bell. It was teamwork."

The man blinked several times and sighed, "Fine, fine. You win. You three pass. From now on we're team 7, we'll do missions yaddi yadda."

Kakashi sighed, "But before I let you guys go, I just want to tell you this, those who abandon rules are scum."

"But those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum, right, Kakashi-sensei?" finished Hikari.

The man blinked a few times and chuckled, "Yep, you're right. I think I might like this team. Meet me here tomorrow, same time. Feel free to eat all of the bento, I'll see you tomorrow."

As the man vanished via Shunshin, Hikari smiled, "Well, we passed. Nice job guys."

Sakura beamed as Sasuke nodded. Sakura then suggested, "So, wanna go celebrate?"

Sasuke grunted, "Why not?"

Hikari nodded, "Sure. So what do you guys wanna do?"

Before they could answer, Sasuke and Sakura's stomachs growled. The blonde laughed, "Maybe we should eat first. You guys have any suggestions?"

Sakura blushed in embarrassment, "I think we should go for a buffet?"

Sasuke nodded while Hikari giggled, "Okay, let's go then."

The three then headed for a buffet restaurant in the village where they stuffed their faces with food and left with a crying shopkeeper after an hour.

Meanwhile, Yugao and her team had met up in the morning and ate breakfast. They were now heading towards Kirito's blacksmith.

As they entered the shop, Yugao said, "I've been maintaining my sword here since this place opened two years ago. So he should be able to give you girls decent weapons."

Asuna looked at the two girls, "Two years ago?"

Sinon blinked, "You don't think?"

Suguha nodded, "Yeah."

Yugao asked, "What's wrong?"

Before anyone could say anything, Kirito's voice came from the counter, "Welcome, Yugao-san, Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan, Sinon-chan."

The three girls stared at the boy in surprise, "Kirito-kun?"

Yugao blinked, "You know him? Wait..."

The purple haired girl remembered them mentioning Kirito living with them and facepalmed.

Yugao sighed, "Yeah, you girls know him."

Kirito chuckled, "So, Yugao-san, you wanted to have them learn kenjutsu, right?"

Yugao sighed, "Yeah, but since you live with them, I don't think I know them better than you."

The former Anbu then glared at the teen, "And you better not do anything to them."

Kirito chuckled, "I've lived with them since we were kids. I care for them too much for that. Besides, you're here for swords, right?"

Yugao nodded, "I was thinking of having Asuna learn to use a rapier, since she has a slender build. For Suguha would be a katana like me, since we have similar body frames. As for Sinon, she said she wanted to use a bow."

Kirito nodded, "I know. I thought you would say that. So I've started forging them from this morning. If I work on them all day, I can probably finish this by tomorrow noon. That's putting aside my other work. But those can wait."

Yugao nodded, "Okay, so how much?"

Kirito looked at Yugao incredulously, "Are you serious? I won't charge you a ryo for the swords. Just do your job and teach them the basics today."

Yugao blinked and nodded, "Okay. I'll do that now."

Kirito nodded, "And don't bother coming back to collect the swords, I'll just give them the swords when I'm done."

Yugao nodded before Kirito tossed the woman two bokken, one the shape of a rapier and the other the standard one. The teen said, "Here, teach them the basics. And Sinon-chan, here."

The teen brought out a book on archery and placed it on the counter, "Read this while they practice, it should help you learn a bit before you can actually practice using a bow."

The girl took the book and smiled, "Thank you, Kirito-kun."

Kirito nodded, "Anytime. Now I'll have to get back to forging. I'll see you girls later."

Two days later, Kakashi stood in front of Kirito. The man looked at the repaired sword and nodded, "This is excellent. Thank you."

Kirito nodded, "So, when are you gonna teach her?"

Kakashi nodded, "I'll start tomorrow with the Chidori. Its easier to master compared to the Rasengan. Hopefully in a month, she can learn both of them."

Kirito nodded, "Sure, you can leave now, I have to finish up my other projects."

The teen stood up and went to the back. He was almost done with Asuna and Suguha's sword along with Sinon's bow.

Asuna's rapier, Suguha's katana and Sinon's bow were all made of chakra alloy, making them strong and light. Thus easier to handle.

Speaking of the girls, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha had easily got down the basics of archery and swordsplay respectively. Using bokkens, Asuna and Suguha practiced katas while Sinon continued to read book with some taijutsu practice.

A few hours later, Kirito grinned in satisfaction as he finally finished his projects. He placed the swords into their sheaths and sealed the bow and the swords into his pockets and went home.

Later, back at the apartment, he entered to see four girls laying on the sofa tiredly. They greeted him tiredly, "Hey, Kirito-kun."

The teen smiled, "Hey, tough day?"

Hikari groaned and nodded, "Yeah, we had to catch Tora the whole day! That cat is a demon!"

Suguha sighed, "At least you didn't have to spar all day against a kenjutsu master."

Asuna laughed slightly, "Well, at least we didn't do that badly this time."

Sinon nodded, "True, I couldn't last for five minutes against Yugao-sensei, and that's in taijutsu. I really need to work on that."

Kirito chuckled, "Then I think you should learn using kunai to fight. But that's irrelevant for now, I've got your swords and the bow."

That got the girls' attention as he took out the swords. Kirito places the rapier, the katana and the bow on the table as the girls stood by the table.

Kirito grinned, "So, Asuna-chan, your rapier. Suguha-chan, your katana. And Sinon-chan, your bow."

The girls picked up their respective weapons and marvelled at them. They weren't experts, not yet at least, but they could see how well the weapons were made.

The girls looked at Kirito in awe, Sinon asked, "How did you craft something like this?"

Kirito chuckled, "I've been forging since we entered the academy, this is easy. By the way, your arrows will come tomorrow, I had to order a set from Tetsu no Kuni, and they'll give us a steady supply every week, so you don't have to worry about that."

Sinon looked at Kirito happily with gratitude, "Thank you, Kirito-kun."

Asuna and Suguha nodded and said in unison, "Yes, thank you, Kirito-kun."

Kirito chuckled, "Think nothing of it. So, what are you going to name them?"

The three girls blinked, "Name them?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, every weapon has a name. As a blacksmith and swordsman, that's a rule we have. But, I thought of giving that choice to you."

The girls thought for a while before Asuna said, "Lambant Light."

Kirito blinked, "That's not a bad name, but why?"

Asuna giggled, "It was just the first thing that came to mind."

Suguha then said, "Then, I'll name this Tempest."

Kirito nodded, "A good name for a sword. So, Sinon-chan?"

The brunette spoke, "Shekinah. Its a divine aspect of Christian theology."

Kirito nodded, "Okay. So, take care of your weapons. Once every month, let me check and maintain your weapons, this will keep them in top condition. Get that."

The girls nodded before Kirito looked at Hikari, "Hikari-chan, if you want a sword, I do not think you should. I mean you could, but your body is not built for a sword from what I can see. Besides, I already have Kakashi prepare something for you."

Hikari blushed a bit when he mentioned her body but blinked at that last part, "What?"

Kirito chuckled as he when to cook dinner, "You'll find out tomorrow. For now, I'm cooking ramen."

Hikari cheered, "Yay!"

The three girls just sighed as they saw Hikari cheer and went to put away their new weapons.

The next day, Yugao stared at the weapons her students had brought. She facepalmed as she started to cry anime tears, "Kirito went all out. Even my katana, one he forged, is not as good as these... why?!!!"

The three girls could only sweatdrop as their sensei sulked under a tree, only then realizing how well their weapons were made and how much effort Kirito put into them.

After 5 minutes, Yugao cleared her throat, "You will not speak of that, clear?"

The girls nodded as they started training in their weapons.

Meanwhile, with team 7. Kakashi looked at the team, "Okay, so let me tell what we're doing for the this and the next session. Today, I will give each of you a jutsu. You will learn them and try to get them down today. Tomorrow, you will learn to tree walk, if not water walk."

The students nodded, knowing that tree walking and water walking were important aspects of being a shinobi as it let them fight on all kinds of terrains.

Kakashi then took out two scrolls and gave them to Sakura and Sasuke each, "For Sakura, since you have the least chakra, I'll let you learn the Teppodama. For Sasuke, you'll learn the Raiton: Gian."

Kakashi made a clone to watch over them before he turned to Hikari, "You're coming with me."

The girl followed her teacher to a secluded area. Kakashi said, "I told you I went to the blacksmith a few days before, yes?"

Hikari nodded as Kakashi continued, "A friend wanted me to teach you two jutsu. Two jutsu that I would have never thought to teach anyone."

Kakashi turned and held up both hands. In his left hand, lightning crackled dangerously while in his right hand was a sphere of pure chakra.

The last student of the Yondaime Hokage said, "The Chidori, my personal creation, and the Rasengan, the Yondaime Hokage's, my sensei's personal jutsu."

Hikari marvelled at the two jutsu in his hands. Then she remembered Kirito's words yesterday and smiled happily.

Kakashi continued, "These are both A-ranked jutsu. Normally we wouldn't trust a gennin with it, but I think we can compromise."

The man closed his hands and dispersed the jutsu, "So, let's start with the Chidori."

A few months later, after tons of D-ranked missions, Hikari had finished learning the Chidori and had a decent mastery of it and was starting the first step of the Rasengan.

Sasuke and Sakura had learned a few jutsu here and there, mostly C-ranked jutsu but they were coming nicely. They had also mastered the tree walking and water walking.

Overall, Kakashi was pleased with his current team with the pace.

With team 11, Yugao had never been as proud as she was now. Asuna and Suguha had taken to their swords like fish to water. They progressed so quickly that it wasn't funny. With their swords alone, the two could take down high Chuunin opponents, and that was without reinforcing their swords or the jutsu Yugao taught them.

As for Sinon, the girl had taken archery to a new level. She could snipe targets over two hundred meters away and hit them perfectly. Her taijutsu also improved and she took up fighting with kunai which was also quite decent.

If Yugao had to bet, her team could take down Jounin level opponents on their own easily.

Now, Kirito was in the Hokage's office. Hiruzen stared at the request Kirito gave him, "You want to go to the ruins of Uzu no Kuni? Why?"

Kirito shrugged, "Curiosity. I live with the last Uzumaki in Konoha, you can't blame me for being curious. Besides, the Uzumaki were known for seals and swords."

Hiruzen sighed, "And you theorize that an Uzumaki is required to enter the island."

Kirito nodded. The old Sarutobi sighed, "Fine, I'll allow the mission. Besides, I received a mission two days ago about escorting someone back to Nami no Kuni and provide protection. The guy requested it as a C-rank."

Kirito said, "But with Nami's current state, what he asks is more of a B-rank, right?"

Hiruzen nodded, "Yeah. I'm planning on giving this to Yugao's team. Plus since you requested going to Uzu no kuni's ruins, I'll add Kakashi's team. You're fine with that, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, of course."

The old man nodded, "Good, I'll tell you when they accept the mission."

Kirito nodded and left the office. Hiruzen sighed, "I have no idea whether to be thankful or not. If this goes well, we might save a country and secure a trade alliance."

Later, Yugao and team 11 came into the office. In Sinon's arms was Tora the Demon Cat, purring as the girl scratched its ears. Yugao said, obviously relieved, "Hokage-sama, we got Tora back."

The Hokage nodded, "Good job. Your pay will be transfered to your accounts."

Yugao nodded as the Hokage asked, "So, would you like a joint C-ranked mission?"

Yugao asked, "A joint mission? With what team?"

Hiruzen smiled, "Team 7. Kirito-kun requested that team to bring him to the ruins of Uzu no Kuni, and a man wanted escorts to Nami no kuni for protection. Since these areas are close, I thought of having your two teams work together."

Yugao nodded and looked at the girls, "You up for that girls?"

The three smiled and nodded. Yugao smiled and looked at her leader, "Sure, we'll take it."

Hiruzen nodded, "Good. I'll send an Anbu to tell them. Meet up here tomorrow to meet your clients at 8am."

Yugao nodded before she turned to her team, "Pack for a month, meet up here tomorrow at 8am. Dismissed."

The girls nodded and left the office with Yugao. Hiruzen sighed before he looked at his paperwork.

A while later, Hiruzen's door opened to reveal three old people. The old Hokage sighed, "What do you three want?"

Koharu frowned, "Why are you still letting the girl in Sasuke's team?"

Homura nodded, "You should have just let Sasuke learn under Kakashi. The girl should not have even graduated."

Hiruzen sighed, "Its been months and you're still going on about it."

Danzo chuckled, "Well, can't blame them. But I believe its better for the two of them to be placed under my care."

Hiruzen stared at his old friend, "Do you want a black swordsman up your ass? The boy is stronger than we think."

Danzo chuckled, "Maybe, maybe not. I still think its better."

Hiruzen shook his head, "No. I will not kill Hikari-chan, nor will I place her and Sasuke-kun under you, Danzo. If you're done, please leave, I have to face an enemy on the battlefield."

The three frowned as their old friend continued with his paper work and left the office. Hiruzen sighed, "They're gonna be the death of me. At least I don't have a civilian council, god bless Ay-dono and Rasa-dono."

XXX

Done. So the next chapter onwards will be the Wave arc and a visit to Uzu no kuni. Review please.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey, this is chapter 7. And before we start, just want to say something about the spells Kirito will use. He won't use them all the time, but when he does, I will have him NOT fully follow the chants in cannon.

XXX

Later that night, Kirito had received the Hokage's confirmation about the mission and was packing his stuff when the four girls came home.

Kirito greeted them, "Hey."

The girls waved as they put down their stuff. Asuna asked, "So, Kirito-kun, why did you want to go to Uzu no Kuni's ruins?"

Kirito smiled, "Uzu no Kuni used to be the country of the Uzumaki clan. But in the previous war, the clan was destroyed by a joint attack from Iwagakure, Kumogakure and Kirigakure. I figured that we might find something if value to Hikari-chan since she's the last Uzumaki in the village."

Sinon nodded, "I see. So we're all going."

Kirito nodded, "I know. Hokage-sama told me about the joint mission thing. So we'll escort that guy back to Nami no Kuni, stay there for a while until his bridge is done, and then go to Uzu no Kuni."

The girls nodded in response as Kirito said, "Well, I've finished packing, so you girls go clean up and pack your equipment, I'll tell you when the food's ready."

The girls nodded and went to bathe as Kirito started to cook. The teen was glad he finished packing early or he'd risk revealing his swords. But then again, he was probably gonna reveal his true strength after this mission.

After the girls cleaned up and ate dinner before they packed for their mission.

The next day, teams 7 and 11 were in the Hokage's office. Hiruzen said, "So, you two teams will be doing a joint mission, 2 C-ranked missions to be exact. They're both escort missions."

The two jounin nodded with their gennin. Hiruzen continued, "The first part will be escorting a bridge builder back to Nami no Kuni and guard him until he finishes his bridge. Then you will escort one of our villagers to the ruins of Uzu no Kuni and guard him before you come back."

The old man let out a breath, "Understood?"

The eight people in front of him nodded. The Hokage nodded, "Good. These will be your clients."

The door opened to reveal Kirito and an old man holding a sake bottle. Sasuke frowned, "Why are you here?"

Kirito grinned, "I'm one of your clients ya know."

The old man huffed, "The man looks fine, the boy looks like a duck head, and what's with the pinky? At least the others are good on the eyes."

Kirito chuckled as he felt the killing intent coming from all six gennins, he placed a hand on the man's shoulder, "Tazuna-san, I think you should watch what you say, everyone here can kill you in a flash and you won't know who it is."

The man huffed, obviously drunk, "Yeah whatever, name's Tazuna, I expect you to guard me well."

Yugao forced a smile, "Yeah, we will."

Kakashi eye-smiled, "Well, let's go then. No time to lose."

No one argued as they quickly left the office for the gates.

Soon, as they walked away from the village. Sakura asked, "Umm, Tazuna-san, I'm curious, why would you hire us and not ninja from your own village?"

Tazuna huffed, "That's the problem, pur village has no ninja. At least not after the third war."

Sakura asked curiously, "What happened?"

Kirito decided to answer, "Nami no Kuni was once part of Uzu no Kuni, which was a nation that had their own ninja village, called Uzushiogakure."

Tazuna nodded, "But during the war, the whole nation was destroyed, leaving the island and our country. That's why we rely on other villages for help."

Sasuke hmph'd, "They must be weak if they fell so easily."

The two Jounin, the bridge builder, Kirito stared at the last Uchiha. Kirito sighed, "Uzushiogakure was the home to the Uzumaki clan. It took several weeks, with the combined forces of Iwa, Kumo and Kiri to even break through their defenses."

Hikari nodded as she learned about her clan, "I see."

Sasuke however, didn't seem to notice that Kirito had said that the Uzumaki clan was part of of Uzu no Kuni and said arrogantly, "Hmph, they still fell."

Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha glared at the last Uchiha. Sinon said, "Even so, you have no right to judge them or disrespect them."

Asuna and Suguha nodded. Then, Kirito said, "Besides, if I remember correctly, it took one night, one man to kill the whole Uchiha clan, right?"

Sasuke's eyes glowed murderously and turned to face Kirito, "You bastard!"

Kirito smirked as he stared straight into Sasuke's eyes, "What's wrong? Did I get that wrong?"

Sasuke charged the teen, "I'll kill you!"

But before he could even move an inch, Kakashi held him in place, "Calm down, Sasuke. And Kirito, please."

The teen raised his arms in a surrendering manner as Yugao sighed, "This is like straight out of a drama."

Then, the two Jounin spotted a puddle at the side of the road and exchanged nods. Kirito also spotted the puddle easily and just decided to ignore it, though ready to act if needed.

Then, right as they passed the puddle, it burst into a cloud of smoke as two chains shot out and wrapped them around Yugao and Kakashi, seemingly shredding them to pieces.

Sakura screamed, "Kakashi-sensei!"

The smoke then cleared to reveal two masked men. One of the smirked, "Well, what do we have here, a bunch of cute kunoichi. Gozu, lets kill the builder and the boy, and have some fun."

The other man, Gozu nodded, "Why not, Meizu."

Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and Hikari acted quickly. The auburn haired girl drew her rapier and charged one of the brothers as Suguha drew her Katana and followed after Asuna.

Sinon drew her bow and nocked an arrow, aiming at the other man as Hikari drew a pair of kunai and charged in.

Asuna jumped up and spun in midair, coming down sending a series of stabs at Meizu as Suguha charged in with several slashes with her Tempest.

The man barely had enough time to dodge Asuna's stabs before he blacked Suguha's sword with his gauntlet. Meizu cursed as he noticed the blade slowly cutting through his gauntlet.

Then, Asuna appeared at his left, her rapier poised to strike. Meizu cursed as he pushed Suguha away and jumped up to dodge the stabs. But Suguha was ready, the busty girl charged and gave a slash, cutting off Meizu's arm.

The man stumbled, clutching his side as he yelled in pain. Then, he felt Asuna's Lambant Light on his neck and Suguha's Tempest's blade on the back of his neck.

Meanwhile, Hikari swung her kunai as Sinon shot arrows at Gozu's chains, preventing from using them. Then, the man grunted and tried to punch Hikari, but she dodged the punch and quickly made a clone that knee'd him in the face before it flipped around and hugged the man tightly.

The hug surprised the man before the clone started to glow. Hikari grinned, "Bunshin Daibakuha."

The clone exploded, killing the man in the explosion as the smoking corpse fell to the ground.

Hikari then realized she had killed a person and stared at the ground still, "I... I just killed someone."

Kakashi and Yugao appeared via Shunshin and stared at the girl. Sakura snapped out of her shock, "Kakashi-sensei, Yugao-sensei! You're both fine!"

The two Jounin ignored them as Kakashi spoke, "Hikari, I know this is your first kill, but this is how we work, we are shinobi."

Yugao nodded, "Yeah, you did very well."

Hikari nodded before she felt someone embrace her. Kirito's soothing voice entered her ears, "If you want to cry, just cry. Your first kill will always be the hardest, but it just proves that you are human."

Hikari's eyes widened as memories of people calling her a demon resurfaced. Tears burst out as she cried into Kirito's shoulder, the teen patting her back gently.

Asuna, Sinon and Suguha stared sadly at their sister in all but blood. The three knew among all of them, Hikari was emotionally the weakest. The three then realized that they would probably face the same thing when they did their first kill.

Sakura just stared in shock as she thought maybe her mother was wrong about Hikari being a demon. After all, no demon would cry about killing a person.

Sasuke however, was cursing the blacksmith, 'It should be me who has her crying on my shoulder! Kirito... I will kill you! First you dishonor my clan, then Hikari...'

Tazuna was just staring somberly at the ground.

Then, Kakashi approached the one-armed Meizu, who was still shocked that his brother was dead.

The cyclops nodded to the two girls, "Good job girls, I'll take over."

Kakashi then dragged Meizu into the forest.

A while later, Hikari stopped cry and let go of Kirito. The young man asked, "Are you okay now?"

Hikari nodded and wiped a tear off her eyes, "Thank you, Kirito-kun."

Asuna smiled, "Don't worry, we will definitely support you all the way, you have to be Hokage after all."

Hikari nodded and beamed, "Yeah!"

Then, Kakashi came out of the trees, "Tazuna-san, I believe we need to talk."

Tazuna started to sweat under the gaze of the two Jounin. Kakashi said, "Meizu was kind enough to tell me that he was hired to kill you."

Yugao blinked, "Wait, they are Chuunin ranked threats, but to kill a civilian like you..."

She glared at him, "What are you hiding?"

Before Tazuna could answer however, Kirito stepped in, "Ah, wait a sec, Hokage-sama knew this would happen, that's why he arranged this joint mission."

Kakashi stared at the blacksmith, "And? This could potentially be an A-ranked mission. That's not counting if there are stronger opponents ahead."

Kirito chuckled, "True, but that's why we have you two, right? Hokage-sama wouldn't give you the mission if he didn't think you could handle it, right? Copy Ninja Kakashi and former Anbu Yugao-san."

The two sighed, Yugao nodded, "I guess you're right, we'll just leave the decision to them. "

The woman turned to the gennin, "So, it seems that Tazuna has hidden info from us and we might be facing a potential A-rank mission. Do you girls want to continue?"

The woman completely disregarded Sasuke as she asked them. Tazuna then said, "The bridge will be the key to escaping from Gato, when our country gets back on track, we'll form a trade alliance with Konoha, please."

Kakashi nodded and looked at the girls and Sasuke, "That's what he said."

Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and Hikari looked at each other and nodded before they looked at Kirito who grinned. Asuna spoke, "I think we should continue."

The other three girls nodded. Yugao nodded in satisfaction, "Good, so, Sakura, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha grunted, "We should continue, its not like an Uchiha can back down."

Sakura nodded, "I'll follow Sasuke-kun."

Kakashi sighed and looked at Tazuna, "Well, you're in luck then. Let's get going."

The builder bowed deeply, "Thank you very much."

Kakashi waved it off, "Yeah sure."

The group then continued walking. Then, they noticed the mist was growing stronger and thicker.

Kakashi spoke, "Hold. This mist, its unnatural."

Tazuna blinked, "Eh? Actually its quite normal for mist this thick."

Yugao shook her head, "No, what he means is that the mist is filled with chakra, its man made. Which means that there is someone waiting for us."

Tazuna Oh'd before Hikari whipped out a kunai and threw it at a particular direction. Sakura frowned, "Why did you do that?"

Hikari ignored her and walked towards the direction, luckily still in sight as she brought a white rabbit out, caressing it, "Sorry, false alar- wait... the fur is white."

Hikari ran back to her team just as something swung by, almost taking her head off if she was a second late.

Kakashi yelled, "Manji formation, NOW!"

The team quickly surrounded Tazuna and Kirito, watching all sides. Then, Kirito heard wind whirling. He quickly turned and yelled, "Duck now!"

Everyone ducked, Kakashi pulling Tazuna down as they heard a loud clang. They all looked up to see Kirito holding a black blade against a huge sword.

Asuna gasped, "Kirito-kun?"

Suguha asked, "Where did you get sword?"

Sinon and Hikari could only stare as Kirito pushed against the massive sword. The blacksmith then spread his left arm to his side and started to chant, "Kaze yo, ware no yaiba ni nare. Hikisake, Vartex!"

A vortex of wind started to form around his left arm. Kirito swung his arm and sent the vortex at the blade. The owner of the blade quickly jumped away to avoid the wind blade as it cleared the mist.

The vortex blew away the mist completely to reveal a masked man who wore a sleeveless shirt.

Kirito grinned, "Eh, aren't you one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"

The man hmph'd, "Yes I am. I'm impressed, for someone as young as you to block my blade."

Kirito smirked, "Its an honor then, Momochi Zabuza, wielder of the Kubikiribocho."

Sinon asked, "Kirito-kun, what are you doing?"

Kirito turned slightly and looked at the girls, "Sorry, but I've kept some secrets for a while. I'll tell you girls later, but for now, my pride as a swordsman wants to fight against him."

The blacksmith walked forward, out of the formation, "Zabuza-san, I've heard a lot about that sword of yours, as a blacksmith and a swordsman, I'm curious, how I stand against you."

Zabuza was intrigued, "Ho, its been a while since I fought as a swordsman, nor have I met anyone else other than those who share my title."

Kirito grinned, "My name is Kirito. Momochi Zabuza, I challenge you to a duel of swords."

Zabuza smirked, "Very well, I accept."

At the side, Kakashi and Yugao were surprised at what was happening, Sasuke growled, "What is that idiot doing?!"

Yugao glared at the gennin, "This is sacred among swordsman. I know Zabuza is the enemy, but shut up and watch."

Sakura then asked, "What is this duel anyways?"

Kakashi answered, "The duel of swords. Its something shared by swordsmen, be it samurai, shinobi or civilians. As long as they are swordsmen, they can challenge each other to a duel that puts their pride on the line."

Asuna and Suguha blinked, the auburn haired girl asked, "Why have we not heard of it?"

Yugao looked at her students, "I was planning to tell you some time, but you're not ready yet."

Hikari looked at the boy, "He's gonna be fine, right?"

Kakashi nodded, "If he knows about the duel, he should be fine."

Back with Kirito and Zabuza, Kirito took a stance as Zabuza readied his sword. Then, without warning, they both charged forward and clashed blades.

Zabuza grinned as they pushed against each other, "Your strength is not bad, to push against me."

Kirito chuckled, "You ain't seen nothin yet."

Zabuza pushed Kirito away and tried to cleave him apart. But Kirito spun around the blade and lowered the Elucidator to waist level and channeled chakra through the blade.

The Elucidator glowed as Kirito thrust the blade forward, "Vorpal Strike!"

Zabuza tch'd and managed to dodge a fatal wound as he landed a few meters from Kirito.

The man asked, "That technique, its not an ordinary kenjutsu skill, is it?"

Kirito chuckled, "Yeah, it is. I can't use chakra like you do, so I had to use another way. Let us continue."

The teen then charged forward as his sword glowed blue green, "Sonic Leap."

Kirito swung his blade at Zabuza who parried it with a chakra enhanced Kubikiribocho. The impact was so huge that it sent both warriors flying a bit.

They landed before they charged each other again, matching slash for slash.

Then, as Zabuza charged forward with an upward slash, Kirito drew his sword back as it glowed light blue. He then swung it down, "Slant!"

The blades met as the two swordsman passed each other. Then, a piece of the Kubikiribocho stabbed itself into the ground.

Zabuza looked at his broken blade in surprise, "You broke my sword."

Kirito grinned, "Yeah, I noticed that weak spot on the sword."

Zabuza nodded, "Yeah, but my sword can repair itself through the iron in blood, so its not a problem."

Zabuza then narrowed his eyes, "But, I've noticed that you're holding back, like you lack something. You, are you a dual blade user?"

Kirito chuckled before he sighed, "Yeah, but you're also holding back quite a bit, aren't you? I'm not stupid to go all out against a half-assed opponent."

Zabuza nodded, "True, I apologize, I haven't been taking the duel seriously, my target is the bridge builder after all."

Kirito nodded as Zabuza retook his stance, "From now on, I will not hold back now."

Kirito grinned and was about to unseal his second sword when a senbon embedded itself into Zabuza's neck. The man then fell to the floor.

A masked figure appeared in front of them and picked up Zabuza. Kirito narrowed his eyes, "What are you doing?"

The figure stared at Kirito, "Sorry, but I've been hunting him for a long time. I apologise for interfering, but I cannot waste any more time."

Kirito glared at the figure as the hunter nin bowed his head, "I really am sorry, I shall leave."

The hunter then vanished via Shunshin. Kirito sighed as he sheathed his blade, "And the fun was just starting..."

He then turned to see Kakashi and Yugao's impressed looks at him, but he was more concerned with the dangerously sweet smiles Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and Hikari were giving him.

The girls said in complete unrehearsed unison, "Kirito-kun, would you like to explain?"

The teen chuckled nervously as he sweated. Kakashi shook his head, "I seriously pity him."

Tazuna nodded in agreement, "You and me both."

Then before the girls could unleash their wrath, Sasuke voice out, "You, give me that sword."

Kirito blinked, "Excuse me?"

Sasuke glared at the black swordsman, "You, someone who isn't even a ninja, a nobody. Someone like you don't deserve that power. Give it to me."

Kakashi gripped Sasuke's shoulder hard, "Now now, Sasuke, that's not the way to talk to someone."

Kirito narrowed his eyes at Sasuke, "A nobody? Someone who isn't a ninja? If you think you can, come take it."

Sasuke tried to charge the teen but was held back by Kakashi. The cyclops sighed, "Please, stop. Both of you."

Kirito sighed and nodded, resealing his sword away. Yugao then spoke, "Come on, we do not have time to waste."

The group then quickly continued their journey, with Sasuke grumbling all the way.

A while later, they reached the side of a river, waiting for them was a small boat. A man was waiting for them.

The man frowned, "Tazuna, you brought so many people. How can we fit all of them here? Making the trip here was risky enough."

Kakashi asked Yugao, "You taught them water walking already?"

Yugao huffed, "I'm not you, Kakashi-senpai, I take my job seriously."

Kakashi chuckled, "I was just asking. Its better for us to water walk instead of sitting on the boat, well, Kirito can sit on the boat with Tazuna of course."

Kirito nodded, "I can't water walk after all, I can't use chakra like you do."

Kakashi nodded and looked at the man, "Its fine, we can walk, just let Tazuna-san and Kirito on the boat, we'll follow behind."

The man raised an eyebrow as the eight shinobi started to walk on the water and filed it off as a ninja thing. He then looked at Kirito and Tazuna, beckoning them to get on board.

The man carefully pushed the boat off shore onto the water and started to paddle quietly, with the eight ninja walking stealthily beside them.

As they moved, they were met with a huge bridge that was halfway hanging. Sakura marvelled and said as quiet as she could, "Wow, is that the bridge?"

Tazuna nodded proudly and stood up, saying quietly, "This is my masterpiece, the bridge that will- woah!"

He stumbled and would have fell into the water had Sinon not catch him by his collar. The girl said, "Please stay seated and stay quiet."

Tazuna nodded and quietly sat down, not saying a word after that as they quickly reached the shore. The man spoke as they got off the boat, "This is it, Tazuna. Good luck."

The old man nodded as the other man went off. Tazuna then turned to the others, "Come with me, my house is this way."

They headed towards a two story house and Tazuna knocked the door loudly, "Tsunami, I'm home!"

The man kept on knocking the door loudly until it opened and revealed a frying pan that slammed onto Tazuna's head.

The old man fell to the floor, revealing a middle aged woman with black hair. The woman noticed the group of people behind her father and blinked, "Ara, I'm sorry for that, I'm Tsunami, Tazuna's my father."

Kakashi nodded, "Its fine... I guess... erm, I'm Kakashi, we're the team, well, teams, sent here to guard your father."

Tsunami nodded as Tazuna finally got up from the floor. The old man sighed, "You hit as hard as ever, my daughter."

Tsunami sighed, "If you acted a bit less rude, then I wouldn't even hit you. Besides, there are guests."

Tazuna sighed, "Okay okay."

They all then went into the house as Tsunami asked, "But why are there two teams? I thought Otou-san could only ask for one team."

Kakashi chuckled, "Actually only half of us here are to protect your father, we're supposed to go to the ruins of Uzu no Kuni. But Hokage-sama was kind enough to make them joint missions, so we're here too."

Tsunami nodded, "I see, what do you need at the ruins though?"

Kakashi looked at Kirito who nodded, the teen spoke, "Well, Hikari-chan is the last Uzumaki in Konoha, so I thought we might find something there."

Tsunami blinked, "Hikari? That's you right?"

She looked at the blonde as she said, "But you're blonde, Uzumaki are supposed to have red hair."

Hikari shrugged, "Dominant and recessive genes and stuff. No idea who my parents are though."

Tsunami nodded, "I see."

Kakashi nodded, "Okay, so we'll set up a border around the house, then we'll go train. Got it?"

No one argued before Asuna asked, "Tsunami-san, do you have an empty private space?"

Tsunami blinked and nodded, "Sure, you can use the spare room upstairs."

Asuna smiled and nodded before she dragged Kirito away, Hikari, Suguha and Sinon following behind.

In the room, Suguha started, "So, can you explain what was that with Zabuza?"

Kirito rubbed his neck and sighed, "Okay, I was going to tell you girls soon anyways."

The teen looked at the girls seriously, "Do you remember, that day we got kicked out of the orphanage?"

The girls nodded. Kirito continued, "That day, I swore on my life, that I would protect the four of you. That time, the best way for me was to fight alongside you, since you all wanted to be kunoichi."

Kirito let out a breath, "But Kami-sama had other plans. I couldn't use chakra the way you did. I had a huge reserve, but the flow was small and I didn't have the necessary chakra coils to become a ninja."

The girls nodded sadly as they remembered that day. The young man then continued, "I ran. Then, I met Hokage-sama. I told him what happened, and he brought me to Kayaba-sensei."

The teen smiled, "Kayaba-sensei was like me. He had large chakra, but small coils. He taught me how to forge, and he taught me how to fight."

Kirito brought out the Elucidator and his second sword, the Dark Repulsor, "I couldn't fight alongside you, but I still wanted to do something, so under Kayaba-sensei, I learned kenjutsu and his version of elemental jutsu."

Kirito sheathed the swords on his back and brought up his right palm, forming a small ball of fire, "Unlike ninja, I don't use handsigns. I use spells that form attacks. My chakra coils are so small that I cannot use jutsu, but I have a high control over my chakra, so instead, I can do these."

The girls were speechless. Asuna said, "So, all this time, you were learning to fight, to forge to protect us?"

Sinon spoke, "And you attended the academy and worked in Teuchi-ojisan's shop as well."

Suguha continued, "And everyday, when we come back, you always try to do everything for us."

The girls teared up and all hugged him. Asuna asked, "Why didn't you just tell us?"

Kirito chuckled, "Well, I wanted you to focus on becoming the best ninja. Those things are worth it."

Suguha shook her head, "But you've been working so hard for all these years, we never really did much for you."

Kirito shook his head and said, "Don't worry about it, to me, as long as the four of you can smile, as long as you all are safe, I will do anything. Besides, I'm quite strong now."

Sinon shook her head and stared at Kirito in the eye, "Its not that! We all keep saying we want to protect our family, but all these years, you're the one who worked so hard for us."

Kirito smiled, "Why wouldn't I? When we found out I couldn't use chakra, you didn't leave me. You girls became popular, but you still stuck by me."

Hikari shook her head, "We love you, of course we'd stick with you! We even thought of sharing you!"

Sinon glared at the blonde slightly, "Hikari-chan!"

The blonde looked away, "Well, its the truth. Besides, it isn't like we didn't thought about that, and polygamy isn't illegal."

Suguha nodded, "The only reason not many people do it because people rarely have situations like this and prefer not to share."

Asuna nodded, "Sinon-chan, we've agreed about that, didn't we?"

Sinon blushed and looked away, "Well, I wasn't ready."

Kirito blinked, "So, you all... like me? And you decided to... share me?"

Asuna nodded, "Yes, we love you, Kirito-kun."

Kirito nodded, "I see. Me too, I've always loved all of you, but... I didn't want to hurt any of you by choosing."

Sinon gave a small smile, "Well, its good that you don't need to then."

Kirito nodded, "So, does that mean, we're officially moving to the next step?"

The girls all nodded in unison and burried their heads into Kirito. The blacksmith blinked, "Umm, can you girls let go? It's a bit hard to move."

Suguha pouted, "You don't like our hugs?"

Kirito sweatdropped, "No its not that, it's just a bit hard to move. Besides..."

The teen blushed slightly as he felt the four girls chest against him. He thought Hikari and Asuna were similar in size, Sinon was a bit smaller while Suguha had the largest.

The girls giggled as they knew exactly what was going in his mind and let go. Then Hikari spoke, "Umm, I also have a secret."

The girls looked at their sister while Kirito looked at her, knowing what she was about to say. Hikari pulled up her shirt and channeled chakra to reveal a seal on her stomach, "I'm the Jinchurikii of the Kyuubi, and its sealed here."

The girls stayed silent for a while before Sinon said, "I see, we had a bit of an idea about that."

Hikari blinked, "What?"

Kirito chuckled, "Well, if we think about your birthday, the way people call you a demon and your birthmarks, we figured you had some form of connection with the Kyuubi. Besides, Uzumaki women have been known to be the Kyuubi's hosts."

Suguha nodded, "Besides, it won't change the fact that you're our family."

The others nodded as Hikari embraced all of them. The five then stayed there, enjoying each other's presence.

Then, someone knocked on the door as Kakashi's voice came, "Are you five done? We need to set up the border and train."

Hikari grumbled as she let go four of the most important people in her life, "Bakakashi-sensei, he had to ruin our moment."

The others chuckled/giggled as they went out of the room.

XXX

Okay, done. So the next chapter will be training and stuff, with Haku appearing and so on. Inari will still get the character development thing, so yeah. Review please.

List of sword skills:

Vorpal Strike

Sonic Leap

Slant

List of spells used:

Vartex (non-cannon, inspired by Vartex from Super Robot Wars X's Xelguard)


	8. Chapter 8

Hey!!! This is chapter 8. **Krecier** , the drama was a bit unnecessary, yes. But tbh I felt that the standard confession thing is a bit old, and it just came to mind, so I just used that. And I only planned to have Kirito fight Zabuza. There will be other enemies, so don't worry, the girls will have their time.

And maybe you misunderstood, the 'cocky' attitude Kirito had was only during the academy, he fought Zabuza because he is a swordsman and a blacksmith, not because he wanted to show off. I mean, its not everyday he can fight a famed swordsman. Also, Kirito just cannot use chakra the way shinobi do, meaning, he cannot use jutsu or do ninja stuff, but he can use his chakra for sword skills and spells.

To **Guest-questioner,** you made a good point. To be honest I didn't really thought of the clothes thing, but yeah, she will have other clothes, but I was acty just planning to see what would be needed. For now, she's wearing the Shippuden jumpsuit, but if she does wear other stuff, I will mention it.

And juz in case, most of the 'Naruto' characters are in Shippuden style. Since they are all 16 and around the age in Shippuden.

So yeah. Let's start.

XXX

After the little moment in the room, the five of them went down as the two teams of ninja went out to set up a border.

Kirito decided to stay in the house as they went out.

Tsunami asked, "So, Kirito-san, I'm curious, are you a ninja too?"

Kirito shook his head, "No, I didn't qualify to be one. That's why the other team is here, to guard me on my way to Uzu no Kuni."

Tsunami nodded in understanding, "I see."

Kirito then asked, "So, do you need any help? I mean, the resources here are quite limited, right?"

Tsunami nodded, "Yes, since Gato took over, he has been shipping away all our resources. But, you don't have to worry. We're fine."

Kirito nodded, deciding not pry. Soon, the teams came back from setting the border. Kakashi spoke, "Okay, we're done. By the way, Kirito, Zabuza is not dead."

Kirito blinked, "Seriously?"

Yugao nodded, "Hunter ninja are supposed to dispose of the body on site, regardless of who are present. They also seldom use senbon."

Sinon nodded, "But, the hunter nin we saw used senbon and took away Zabuza's body and his sword."

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah, he's probably Zabuza's accomplice. Besides, we have no idea who else is helping them, it might not be just Zabuza and his fake hunter."

Sasuke grunted, "Hmph, no matter who they are, they are no match against an Uchiha elite like me."

Kakashi and Yugao just ignored the last Uchiha's bragging while the rest just sweatdropped, with Sakura with stars in her eyes.

Kakashi then said, "Okay, let's go training. Kirito, you're coming with us."

The blacksmith blinked, "Wait, why?!"

He was then dragged along by Asuna and Suguha as the two teams went out. As they went out, a young boy wearing a straw hat came down from upstairs and glared at the door before he went up again.

Meanwhile, the fake hunter nin had just finished tending to Zabuza. The hunter nin took out the senbon from the swordsman.

After a few minutes, Zabuza groaned as he woke up, the hunter nin smiled behind the mask, "Zabuza-sama, you're awake."

Zabuza sighed, "Haku, take off the mask."

Haku took off the mask to reveal a feminine face as he smiled. The swordsman sighed, "Why did you interfere?"

Haku looked apologetic, "Sorry, Zabuza-sama, but if you fought any further, you would have died. Even if you won against the black swordsman, you would be too tired against Kakashi and the woman."

Zabuza nodded, "Fine. I guess we'll need to call for help."

Then, the door opened as a short fat man in sunglasses walked in. The man was accompanied by two thugs holding katana. The man said arrogantly, "What's this about calling for help? I guess the Demon of the Mist is just a baby demon."

Zabuza glared at the man, "Gato."

Gato smirked, "Well, I wasn't expecting too much. But since my subordinates have reported that there are two teams, I can understand. So I've called for help for you."

Three men came in. One was black haired and carried two swords. The second one was a brown haired man carrying a long broad sword. The final one was a silver haired man with a small tanto.

Zabuza stared at one of them, "Kurosuki. Its been a while."

The man glared at him, "Yeah, Zabuza. Not a pleasure to see you here. But then, you look roughed up. Did Sharingan no Kakashi give you trouble?"

The man shook his head, "No, I was in a duel before Haku brought me out."

Raiga nodded, "I see. Then at least you didn't lose."

The other man stared at Zabuza, "Hmph, so you didn't lose like Gato said, at least I can wait to see how you Swordsmen of the Mist fight."

Zabuza looked at the man, "Who are you?"

The man smirked, "My name is Kuradeel. It would be a pleasure to meet you, but seeing you in this state is pathetic."

Haku glared at the man, "You should watch what you say."

The final man raised his arms, "Hey, calm down. Mister Kuradeel, please refrain from antagonizing them."

Kuradeel leered at him, "And who are you, smiley?"

The man grinned, "Ichimaru Gin, we all have the same enemies here, I hope that we avoid unnecessary conflict, at least until the mission is over."

Zabuza hmph'd, "So, the Gato hires two of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and two unknown swordsmen. He has a thing for swords, doesn't he?"

Raiga grinned, "Maybe."

Kuradeel shook his head and sighed, "Well, I'll be off. Tell me when we need to move out."

Gin left the room with a smile while Raiga left wordlessly. As soon as the door closed, Haku frowned, "Zabuza-sama, must we work with them?"

Zabuza nodded, "For now, yes. Raiga doesn't seem to want to kill me. So after we get the money, we bail. Hopefully I can count on the Konoha ninja to kill them."

Haku nodded, "Okay, I'll keep watch, I still have to collect the herbs later."

Back with the team from Konoha, Kakashi said, "Okay, so for now, we will have a full contact sparring session. You six gennin will fight us two Jounin."

The six of them nodded before Suguha asked, "What about Kirito-kun?"

The teen shook his head and raised both arms in a surrendering manner, "I'm not joining. I'm just here to watch."

Sinon sighed, "Lazy ass."

Kirito grinned as Yugao said, "Well, he doesn't have any reason to join us for training. So let's leave it at that."

The gennin nodded as their sensei placed some distance between them. Kakashi spoke, "We'll probably be facing stronger opponents after this, so I want you to get some idea how to fight stronger enemies, like the test I gave you, come at us with the intent to kill."

Team 7 nodded as Team 11 drew their weapons. Kirito sighed, "I guess I can proctor this spar."

The two jounin nodded. Kirito spoke, "Okay, you may start... now!"

Instantly, Asuna, Suguha and Hikari charged forward. Sinon nocked arrows and aimed at the two Jounin while Sasuke and Sakura charged Kakashi.

Yugao blocked a slash from Suguha before she jumped backwards to avoid Asuna's stabs from above. The former Anbu then tilted her body to the left to avoid three arrows from Sinon.

Yugao smirked as she threw a slash at Asuna. The auburn haired girl leaned to the right to dodge the slash and thrust her rapier forward.

Yugao quickly drew her sword back to parry the stab before she pushed their swords up to block a slash from Suguha, "Not bad, I'm impressed."

The two girls grinned before they parted and charged again.

With Kakashi, the man dodged a punch from Sasuke before he leaned back to dodge a knee from Hikari.

Kakashi then leaped to the left to avoid a kick from Sakura. Hikari yelled, "Sakura, Sasuke!"

The two flashed through handseals and yelled, "Katon/Fuuton: Gokakyu no Jutsu/Renkuudan!"

The two Gennin shot out two balls of wind and fire that combined to form a large fireball. Kakashi cursed as he flashed through handseals, "Suiton: Suijinheki!"

He spat out a large torrent of water that rose into a wall. The fire ball slammed into the wall, causing a large amount of steam to rise.

Kakashi's eyes then widened as he heard the familiar sound of the Chidori. He turned to see Hikari charging at him from behind, the girl yelled, "Chidori!".

Kakashi quickly turned and gripped her wrist, slamming her Chidori into the ground, trapping her arm as the jutsu faded. Kakashi eye-smiled, "Good attempt, but using my own jutsu against me, you're still a bit too early."

Hikari growled and flipped, kicking Kakashi in the head as he stumbled backwards.

Kakashi then jumped up to avoid several arrows from Sinon before he continued to fight.

With Kirito, he was impressed. Asuna and Suguha were keeping Yugao busy while Hikari, Sasuke and Sakura were keeping up with Kakashi as Sinon would rotate between shooting Yugao and Kakashi. Granted the two Jounin weren't going all out, but it was still impressive.

Kirito thought they did quite well as the eight of them continued to spar, which would later end with a draw. Something then caught his eyes, moving in the bushes.

The blacksmith grinned as he reached to his pouch, taking out sharp nails. He channeled chakra into them as they glowed. Then he threw.

Later, when they finished training, the nine of them went back to Tazuna's house. In Kirito's hands were a pair of rabbits, the teen feeling satisfied as it wasn't just any kind of rabbits.

They were rare rabbits that could be considered the best rabbit to be eaten, the ragout rabbit. The girls, however, thought it was cruel for the rabbits.

Suguha pouted, "Kirito-kun, you didn't have to kill them."

The other girls nodded. Kirito chuckled, "Hey, its rare enough to see these in our country, I couldn't pass up the chance."

Kakashi nodded, "True, a ragout rabbit in itself costs a fortune. To even catch two of these is a godsend."

Yugao agreed, "I never in my life would have thought to see a live ragout rabbit."

Hikari pouted, "But its still cruel."

Kirito grinned, "Then you don't have to eat it."

The four girls protested, "We didn't say that."

Sinon looked away, "Well, since you caught it, we might as well just eat it."

Sakura didn't bother to say anything as she was grossed out while Sasuke just stayed quiet, brooding to himself.

As they entered the house, Kirito quickly walked to the kitchen to see Tsunami getting ready to cook, "Tsunami-san, look at this."

The woman turned and her eyes widened, "Are those?"

Kirito grinned, "Yeah, ragout rabbits. The legendary S-class meat."

Tsunami smiled, "Well, then that takes care of tonight's meat."

Kirito nodded, "Let me help, I was thinking of making a stew out of these."

The woman nodded as Kirito took off his coat and started to help her cook.

Outside of the kitchen, Kakashi was surprised, "Kirito can cook?"

Asuna nodded, "Yes, he learned under Teuchi-ojisan to cook."

Yugao smiled, "He can cook, he can forge and fight, a very nice catch, don't you think, girls?"

The girls just blushed slightly as they looked away. Sakura thought, 'At least I have less competition this way.'

Sasuke just brooded as he stared at Hikari. Kakashi then asked, "Hikari, how is it going with the first step?"

The girl nodded, "I've almost figured it out. I just need to get my chakra flowing in all directions."

Kakashi nodded, "Good, keep up with it. If you need help, don't hesitate to ask."

Hikari nodded. Then Asuna pondered, "You know, I wonder how strong Kirito-kun actually is."

Everyone looked at the auburn haired girl. Asuna blinked, "What? Don't tell me you all aren't curious, I mean he fought toe to toe against Zabuza in all out kenjutsu-only fight. Even though they were holding back."

Yugao nodded, "That is true. We know he cannot use chakra, so its interesting that he could fight like that."

Before they could continue, a boy's voice spoke coldly, "Why bother? You're all just gonna die anyways."

Everyone turned to see a young boy wearing a straw hat walking down. Sakura glared at him, "What was that?"

The boy huffed, "Gato is unstoppable. If you try to fight, he'll just kill you all."

Kakashi chuckled, "I see, but we are all quite strong, you know? Gato may have an army, but they're all thugs, right?"

The boy huffed and just walked out of the house. Sakura grumbled, "What is his problem?"

Sinon sighed, "Sakura, are you fighting with kids now?"

Suguha nodded, "He has that look, that he lost someone important. I mean, Sasuke would know, right?"

Sasuke grunted, "Yeah, but it has nothing to do with us."

A while later, the table was full with food. Kirito grinned, "Well, the ingredients were a bit limited, so I had to get some in the forest and the town. I wasn't sure about the herbs, but they turned out well."

Tsunami smiled and nodded. Tazuna marvelled at the amount of food, "You mean you got ingredients from the town and the forest to make these?"

Kirito nodded as Tsunami said, "Well, Kirito-san paid and got most of the ingredients, I just helped to cook."

Everyone nodded as they went to eat. As they took a bite of the stew, Kirito sighed in satisfaction, "Wow, this meat, as expected of the legendary rabbit. Its tender even in a stew, but... I think it needs more spice..."

He then turned to see everyone's surprised faces as they bit into the rabbit meat. Kirito chuckled as the others got over their shock and continued to eat.

Then as they ate, Kakashi asked, "So, Tazuna-san, how's the bridge coming?"

The man sighed, "At this rate, we might not even finish it in a month. More and more of the workers are bailing out of fear for Gato."

Everyone nodded before Kirito suggested, "Well, then we can just go kill him."

Everyone looked at him as he continued, "I mean, your mission is to protect Tazuna, right? Gato is a threat, thus should be eliminated, besides, its not like you haven't done any assassination missions, Kakashi, Yugao-san."

The two jounin looked at each other and shook their heads. Yugao spoke, "Its too risky, we do not know who is with Gato, it might fail epically."

Kirito nodded, "I see."

Then before anyone could continue, Inari slammed his hands on the table, "Why are you all still trying so hard?! You're just gonna die!"

Sakura glared at the boy, "Hey, how can you say stuff like that?"

Inari glared at the people from Konoha, "No matter how hard you try, you'll all just fail! You all don't know about suffering! You should just go back to your cozy homes!"

The boy turned to leave before Hikari's voice stopped him, "So, everything we've done until now, it was all in vain? Everything Kirito-kun did for us, everything we did to become ninja, it's all useless?"

The girl stood up and looked at Inari, "And sufferings, maybe you're right, we do not understand your sufferings, but, at the very least, you had your mother and grandfather with you. You have a house like this."

Inari turned and yelled at the blonde, "Gato took away my father! My father fought against him, but all it did was kill him."

The blonde stared him straight in the eye, "So are you going to keep hiding in fear? Are you going to dishonor him by letting his sacrifice be useless?"

Inari glared at her, tears running down his face, "You wouldn't undertand! You never lost someone important!"

Inari tried to turn to leave, but Hikari's voice stopped him again, "If you leave, then consider yourself a coward for life."

Inari's eyes widened as he stood there clenching his fists. Hikari continued, her voice softening, "I never lost my father, I never knew him, or my mother. All I had were Kirito-kun, Asuna-chan, Sinon-chan and Suguha-chan."

The girl walked over to the boy and held his shoulders, "I know that you're suffering, but, if you give up, then everything will be over. As long as you don't give up, then you'll have already won, all you need to do is just finish it."

Inari nodded as he listened to her words. Hikari finished, "Do you get that?"

The boy nodded, "I'm sorry. I didn't think about it."

Hikari nodded, "Its okay, now, let's get back to eat."

Inari nodded as he sat down. Kakashi blinked, "Wow, who knew Hikari would be so good with kids? She's a keeper, Kirito."

Kirito chuckled as Hikari blushed. The rest just deadpanned at the scarecrow as Sasuke fumed. Kakashi looked back at them, "What? I was just tryin to lighten up the atmosphere."

Tazuna sighed before he looked at Inari, "So, do you understand why I build the bridge now?"

The boy nodded, "I'm sorry, Jii-chan."

Tazuna nodded, smiling as he ruffled the kid's hair. After that, they just continued eating.

Later at night, everyone had slept. Kirito, Kakashi, Yugao and Sasuke decided to sleep on the sofa, in case anyone came for them at night while the four girls slept in the spare room.

Hikari sat on top if the roof. She thought about Inari's words earlier, even though she knew Inari was just a kid and she didn't let it show too much, it still struck a cord in her.

She was brought out of her musings when Kirito's voice, "What's wrong? Can't sleep?"

Hikari turned to see the teen, "Yeah."

Kirito sat down beside her, "After this, we'll head to Uzu no Kuni. If we're lucky, we might find one of those family tree scrolls."

Hikari asked, "Family tree scrolls?"

Kirito nodded, "You clan is known to have used seals on everything. The family tree scroll is one of them. Every scroll is linked together by seals, as long as chakra is supplied, it can show the family members of the clan."

Hikari nodded, "I see. To be honest, I'm a bit scared. What if my parents are still alive and they abandoned me?"

Kirito embraced her, "Don't worry, no matter, you have me, Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan. We won't leave you."

Hikari nodded before she asked, "By the way, how strong actually are you?"

Kirito blinked and let go of the girl, "What brought this up?"

Hikari looked at her boyfriend, "Well, you fought against Zabuza, so I'm a bit curious."

Kirito grinned, "Well, I'm not sure. Kayaba-sensei said I can fight jounin level opponents, so maybe around there?"

Hikari nodded before she realized something, "How did you get up here anyway?"

Kirito just smiled, "I climbed. So I'll need you to carry me back down."

Hikari sighed, "Idiot, fine. I still wanna stay here for a while."

Kirito nodded as they sat there, enjoying each other's presence.

A while later, the two went back down to see Asuna, Sinon and Suguha staring at them. Sinon spoke, "So, what were the two of you doing up there?"

Suguha smiled mischievously, "Hikari-chan, you're really devious, making a move before us."

Hikari blushed, "Its not what you think! We just talked!"

Kirito chuckled, "Yeah, but Hikari-chan, why are you getting embarrassed? Its not like we can't, or do you not want to?"

Hikari's blush intensified as she stomped back to the room, "I'm going to sleep!"

Kirito chuckled and he looked at the other girls, "Well, you girls should also go to sleep. I'm going down."

The girls nodded and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Oyasumi, Kirito-kun."

The girls then went back to the room as the blacksmith walked down.

The next day, the teams decided to rotate guarding Tazuna on the bridge. As Yugao and team 11 were guarding Tazuna, Kakashi and Kirito were talking outside Tazuna's house.

The cyclops said, "At this rate, Zabuza might be back with his allies in a few days, maybe 5 days."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah."

Kakashi looked at the blacksmith, "I don't want to ask you this, but, in case there are other enemies, I want you to take Zabuza."

Kirito nodded, "Fine with me. I still have to finish my duel with him."

Meanwhile, Hikari was training in the forests alone. She flashed through handseals and pushed her hands downwards, "Chidori!"

The girl charged and slammed her lightning clad arm into a tree, fully piercing it as she pulled it out, leaving a hole in it.

Hikari nodded in satisfaction, "Okay, next is a boulder."

The girl then started to walk around, looking for a boulder. As she walked, she saw a figure picking up what seemed to be flowers.

Hikari walked to the figure and asked curiously, "Hello, what are you doing?"

The figure jumped in surprise and turned to see the twin-tailed blonde. The figure appeared to be a young girl wearing a kimono.

The 'girl' spoke, "Hi, umm, I was just picking up herbs."

Hikari smiled, "I see. What are they for? I mean, its unusual to see someone in the forest like this. Are you from the village?"

The 'girl' shook 'her' head, "I'm not from the village. I'm just here for a short while. And the herbs are for my... uncle. He's a bit sick."

Hikari nodded, "Oh, I see. By the way, who are you?"

The 'girl' smiled, "Haku. You're a ninja, aren't you?"

Hikari beamed, "Yes, my name's Hikari. I was actually looking for a boulder for training."

Haku blinked, "A boulder? Why? You look strong enough."

The Uzumaki giggled, "Maybe I look the part, but I'm not strong enough yet. I'm still just a gennin after all."

Haku nodded, "I see. I'm curious though, why do you fight?"

Hikari blinked, "Why do I fight?"

Haku nodded, "Yes, I believe that fighting for someone important to you will truly make you strong. So I was curious."

The last Uzumaki nodded, "I see. You're right, I'm also fighting to protect someone, or rather, my family."

Haku smiled, "That's good. Then you will become strong."

Hikari grinned, "Thanks."

Haku then turned, "Well, it was nice talking to you. I have to leave, I've picked up what I needed."

Hikari nodded, "Me too."

Haku then spoke, "By the way, I'm a guy. Have a good day."

Hikari blinked as the feminine guy left the area, "W-what?!"

Haku chuckled as he heard the loud blonde, 'She was quite interesting, I hope we don't meet on the battlefield, Hikari-san.'

The next few days, the teams rotated training and guarding Tazuna. After 5 days, in Tazuna's house, Kakashi said, "Zabuza and his allies should be coming around now. We must be more careful."

Yugao nodded, "We should also have someone guard the house. Maybe Sasuke and Sakura, in case anyone targets them."

Sakura was glad she didn't need to go out while Sasuke fumed a bit that he couldn't go, but still accepted it regardless. Kakashi then looked at Kirito, "I don't know about you, since you're a client as well, so its fine if you want to follow or not."

Kirito grinned, "Well, I still have an unfinished duel with Zabuza."

The two jounin nodded as Kakashi nodded to team 11 and Hikari, "Okay, we'll be moving out now, be wary of your surroundings."

The seven of them, along with Tazuna, then moved out of the house for the bridge.

As they headed for the bridge, it was already filled with mist. None of the workers were there.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, "Careful, they're here."

The mist cleared slightly to reveal five figures waiting for them.

XXX

Done. Sorry but this was a bit short. The next chapter will be the fights, and maybe the trip to the ruins of Uzushiogakure. Review please.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello... to the **Guest** , refer to chapter 2. I stated in the 'author's note' that they graduate from the academy at 16. I basically moved up their ages instead of letting them be in cannon age. So yes, Shippuden age.

XXX

Zabuza grinned, "Yo, Kirito."

The blacksmith stared at the man, "So you were alive, Zabuza."

The man chuckled, "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to do that. We'll continue our duel now."

Kirito smirked, "Really? Then I feel honored, to be able to continue our duel. Who are your friends?"

Kuradeel stepped forward, "My name is Kuradeel."

The man's eyes landed on Asuna, "Oh, Zabuza, you don't mind if I take that long haired cutie?"

The swordsman grinned, "I don't mind, as long as you don't get in my way. Haku, get the builder."

Gin smiled, "Then, I'll take the black haired girl."

Raiga chuckled, "So, I'll have to take Kakashi and the woman. Fine by me."

As they said that, Kakashi sighed, "I guess that's it, Hikari, you protect Tazuna."

Yugao looked at Sinon, "You provide support for everyone, okay?"

The archer nodded as she drew her bow. With that, everyone charged their respective opponents as Haku went to kill Tazuna, with Hikari standing in his way.

With Asuna, the girl glared at the man who leered at her. Kuradeel smirked, "I'm gonna enjoy playing with your cute body."

Asuna glared at the man as she drew her rapier, "The feeling is not mutual."

Kuradeel laughed, "Let's dance, shall we?"

The man drew his broadsword and charged the girl. As he swung his blade, Asuna dodged the slash easily and aimed a stab at his abdomen.

The man twisted his body and dodged the stab before he kicked Asuna away. The girl regained her footing and charged the man. As soon as she entered striking range, Asuna jumped up and came down sending stabs at the man.

Kuradeel raised his sword to block the stabs. The man was surprised as Asuna landed right in front of him, under his blade and thrust her sword at him.

Kuradeel gripped his sword and pulled down hard, only to cut a log in half. The man cursed, 'Kawarimi?! Where did the log even come from?!'

He turned to see Asuna with her rapier poised to strike. The man turned and slammed his blade onto the ground, but failed to hit his target as Asuna quickly spun around him and kicked him in the back.

Kuradeel growled in pain as he felt like his back shattered. The man stumbled forward as he reached for his back like an old man.

Kuradeel growled, "Forget about playing with you, I'm gonna butcher that pretty face of yours!"

The man turned and raised his sword up high and swung it down. Asuna saw it coming and leaned to the right, dodging the earth shattering slash before she thrust her blade forward.

This time, her stab landed as she pierced through the right side of his waist, through his kidney and everything. The man yelled in pain as Asuna took out her blade and leaped away just in time to dodge Kuradeel's wild flailing.

Asuna felt relieved, the man's strong swings and long range had made it hard for her to get close. But now that she had injured his waist, which was a vital part for swings like his, Kuradeel's movements were heavily restricted and she could move in easily.

The girl then glared at the man and rushed in. Kuradeel tried to dodge any slashes she would give, but what happened next was not what he expected.

Instead of stabbing him, Asuna raised her left leg and gave a painful kick to the man's crotch. The kick was so hard, Kuradeel's eyes rolled up as he fell to the ground.

Asuna huffed before she gave him another kick that knocked him unconscious. Then, a huge explosion drew her attention. Asuna thought, 'Hikari-chan!'

At the same time with Suguha, the girl held her katana as she faced the smiling man. Gin smiled, "So, how good are you with that sword?"

Suguha stared at the man, "How knows? Would you like to find out?"

Gin chuckled, "Why not? But, that little archer there, I guess I'll kill her later."

The man charged forward and swung his tanto at the girl. Suguha responded by parrying his blade away before she went to give him a slash to the abdomen.

But before she could, Gin pulled his sword down and pointed the tip of his tanto at Suguha. The girl felt danger and quickly leaned her body to the left as the blade extended, barely cutting through her clothes.

Suguha quickly leaped away as she held her Tempest in a defensive position. Gin chuckled, "Nice instincts, a second later and you would have died."

Suguha glared at him, "What is that sword?"

Gin chuckled, "Now that would be telling, but I'm feeling a bit generous today, so... I'll tell you."

The man then pointed his sword at Suguha and the blade extended again. This time, Suguha was prepared as she raised her sword up to block the slash.

The silver haired man spoke, "This is a little project I did when I heard of the Kusanagi's powers. I tried to replicate that power and this is it. Do you know what the Kusanagi can do?"

Suguha stared at the man, "The Kusanagi is said to be able to cut through diamond. But, your sword doesn't seem to be able to do that."

Gin laughed, "My girl, that's just one part of it. The Kusanagi can extend to untold reach, this is what my sword can do."

Gin's tanto extended to the length of a katana, "So, let's see how you handle it?"

But before he could move, Sinon released several arrows that made him block. Gin sighed, "You're really annoying me."

The man pointed his blade at Sinon and willed it to extend. But Suguha was there to block the stab, "You're fight is with me."

The man swung his blade, and when it reached a certain angle, it suddenly extended. Suguha's eyes widened as she leaned down backwards to avoid the slash, the blade only a few inches from her eyes.

Suguha got up and glared at the man as he clapped, "Nice, but... can you dodge this?!"

The man thrust his sword forward and the blade extended. Suguha leaned to the right and swung her blade down, locking it to the ground. Sinon took the chance and lodged several arrows in Gin's shoulders.

The girl then charged forward, pulling her blade as she pushed against Gin's sword, causing sparks to fly out. The man was surprised as Suguha closed the distance between them quickly.

The girl pulled her blade upwards in an attempt to behead the man. But Gin was ready and retracted his blade, blocking the katana easily. The man grinned as he grunted in pain, "Not bad, but surely you can do more."

Suguha pushed Gin away and threw a handful of shuriken and kunai at him. The girl quickly threw her sword up lightly and flashed through handseals, her eyes moving to Sinon who nodded, "Futon: Daitoppa!"

She blew out a huge gust of wind that enhanced the flying projectiles as she grabbed her sword and charged forward. Gin's eyes widened as he tried to block the kunai and shuriken but failed to block all of them as several of the projectiles pierced through his body. Then the archer released her arrows.

Gin grunted as the wind jutsu struck him full force while the arrows hit his thigh and arms before he raised his sword to block the girl's strike. Suguha pushed against the man's sword hard before she channeled wind chakra into the Tempest, increasing its sharpness as it started to chip through Gin's sword.

The man tried to pull away but Suguha just pushed forward, further cracking the sword before it totally shattered into pieces.

The man cursed as he leaped away and dodged the slash, pulling the arrows out of his arms and legs, "I guess I got a little too careless."

Suguha huffed, "Then you should have taken me more seriously, but its all over."

Gin chuckled, "Don't count me out yet, I can fight just fine without a sword."

The man whipped out a kunai as he held it in reverse grip. He blurred towards Suguha and slashed with the kunai. The girl barely blocked the slash before Gin kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying. Suguha thought, 'Fast.'

Gin chuckled as Suguha stood up, "I never did like to fight like a normal swordsman. That honor shit disgusted me. Fighting dirty and effectively fits me more, especially if I can gut my enemies and rip them to shreds. But, I don't think I should do that to your pretty body."

Suguha and Sinon glared at him as the black haired girl said, "You're sick."

Gin laughed, "Its part of the job! We're shinobi, not samurai, girl!"

The man appeared beside the girl and tried to stab her with his kunai. But Sinon was ready and released three arrows that prevented him from hitting Suguha.

Suguha reacted quickly by dodging the stab and swung her blade at him, causing him to jump back. Suguha said coldly, "Its time to end this."

The girl channeled her chakra through her whole body as she charged forward. Suguha thought, 'I still can't use Yugao-sensei's technique, but I can improvise.'

The girl channeled wind chakra as she sent two gusts of wind from both sides towards Gin. She then swung her blade once more as she sent a wave of wind at the man from the middle. She then jumped up and came down with a slash.

Sinon decided to help her sister-in-all-but-blood and released several more arrows.

Gin saw this and blocked the slash from Suguha. But he didn't notice the wind blades and the arrows coming at him and the gusts of air shredded his clothes and skin while the arrows pierced his waist and shoulder, causing blood to bleed out.

The man had been weakened from Suguha's previous attacks and Sinon's arrows, with the girl's strength, Gin's knees buckled as Suguha pushed down.

The man grinned, "I really messed up, you're far from just a gennin, but the again, that archer there was really troublesome."

Suguha didn't reply as she pushed Gin one more time, making him stumble backwards as she swung the blade, beheading the man in a flawless stroke. Then, the girl realized she had just killed a person before a huge explosion drew their attention.

At the same time the fights started, Kakashi and Yugao were facing Raiga with his Kiba blades. Kakashi was holding his tanto while Yugao held her katana.

Raiga grinned, "So, Sharingan no Kakashi and a female jounin, I'm honored."

Kakashi just stared at the man, "Enough with the trash talk, let's do this the professional way."

Yugao stayed silent as the two slowly moved to flank the man. Raiga held his blades with one pointed at each of his opponents, "True. But to be honest, I don't think I'll last long, if you are as strong as Kakashi."

Yugao glared at Raiga, "One way to find out."

The two Konoha jounin then charged the man in unison. Kakashi swung his tanto while Yugao swung her katana at the swordsman.

Raiga raised both swords and blocked the two attacks before they leaped away as lightning crackled along his swords. The man grinned as Kakashi coated his own tanto with lightning chakra while Yugao coated her sword with wind chakra.

Raiga smirked as he held his stance. The man knew if he attacked either of them, the other would attack him from behind. So he did the next best thing, he waited on defense.

The two Konoha Jounin knew full well Raiga could only fight on defense for now and they were planning their next move. Kakashi and Yugao shared a subtle nod and charged forward again.

Kakashi let go of his tanto, surprising Raiga, as he flashed through handseals, "Raikiri!"

Yugao made two Kage Bunshin as she leaped up, "Mikazuki no Mai!"

Raiga tch'd as he was sealed off from moving, Yugao's technique had surrounded him and he couldn't possibly dodge Kakashi's jutsu.

So the man did the next best thing, he stabbed the Kiba swords into the ground, "Come, lightning!"

The swords unleashed a barrier of electricity that destroyed the two clones and sent Yugao flying. Kakashi's Raikiri pierced through the barrier, but Raiga was ready and jumped away before the man could stab him.

Raiga laughed, "Not a bad combination attack. But, I won't go down so easily."

Kakashi picked up his tanto and stared at the man, "I see, then, I guess I have to get serious. Just now, my Raikiri wasn't fully powered since I wasn't using my Sharingan. But the next one will be different."

The man pulled up his headband to reveal the Sharingan, spinning wildly, "Here we go, Yugao!"

Before they could move, the bridge shook violently as an explosion erupted, a foul chakra released into the air. Kakashi and Yugao looked at the direction in worry.

Raiga smirked and yelled, "Is it time for you to worry?!"

The man channeled chakra through his blades and swung them, sending waves of electicity at both of them. The two Konoha jounin jumped up and avoided the blast before Kakashi spoke, "Raiga-san, sorry but I don't have enough time here."

Yugao nodded as she made two clones. Kakashi bit his thumb and flashed through handseals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

With a cloud of smoke, several dogs charged forward as Yugao and her clones rushed in. In an instant, Raiga found himself without his arms and restrained by the dogs.

The man growled in pain as his arms dropped to the ground. Kakashi went through handseals as lightning crackled around his palms, "Kurosuki Raiga, you were very unlucky, having chosen to face the two of us. Your life ends here."

The swordsman closed his eyes as Kakashi's lightning clad arm pierced through his heart, killing the man.

At the same time the fights started, Kirito faced Zabuza, each of them holding their respective swords. Zabuza spoke, "So, those are your swords."

Kirito nodded, "Elucidator and Dark Repulsor, I forged them myself."

Zabuza grinned, "Ho, you did a very good job. Your skills are on par with blacksmiths from Tetsu no Kuni then, if you can forge such swords."

Kirito chuckled, "Maybe, maybe not. So, everyone else is starting, shall we continue our duel?"

Zabuza nodded, "Yeah, let's go."

The two took their stances and charged each other. Zabuza swung his blade horizontally as Kirito swung both blades downwards.

The two swordsmen clashed blades, pushing against each other as hard as they could. Zabuza chuckled, "I see, I can feel the difference in strength. So this is your real strength."

Kirito grinned, "You too!"

They pushed each other away before Kirito crossed his arms, "Gale Slicer!"

The swords glowed light blue as Kirito dashed forward, sending a cross horizontal slash at Zabuza. The speed at which Kirito used to charge surprised the swordsman as he barely had time to dodge the incoming attack.

Zabuza quickly regained his balance and filled his sword with chakra. The nuke nin then swung his blade at Kirito. The blacksmith responded by using another skill.

Kirito swung both swords from the right to the left as they glowed white. The blades clashed as the two men are pushed backwards from the clash.

Zabuza smirked, "As I thought, you really are a worthy opponent."

Kirito grinned as he charged and swung his Elucidator as it clashed against the zanbatou. He then leaped away and placed the sword at waist level as it glowed bright pale blue.

Kirito then charged forward and thrust the blade at Zabuza, "Rage Spike!"

Zabuza tilted his head as the blade passed by, grazing his cheek, allowing blood to ooze out. Kirito grinned, "First blood."

Zabuza smirked, "That means nothing when I draw the last."

Kirito pulled away as Zabuza swung his Kubikiribocho to cleave the blacksmith in half.

Then, before anyone could do anything, a huge explosion erupted as a foul chakra filled the air. Kirito's eyes widened as he could guess what was happening.

The teen turned his head towards the explosion before he jumped up to dodge a slash from Zabuza. The man yelled, "Pay attention!"

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he clashed blades with the man, 'I need to finish it soon.'

The teen pushed Zabuza away and spun, the blade glowing light green, "End Revolver!"

The man was forced to jump away as Kirito charged him again. This time, Kirito's blades glowed a darker shade of green, "Cygnus Onslaught!"

The heavy cross-shaped slash broke Zabuza's sword in half as the man stumbled back. Kirito spoke, "Sorry, Zabuza, but I have to finish it now."

Kirito took a stance as both blades glowed light blue. Then he charged.

Earlier, with Hikari, the girl faced the fake hunter nin, glaring at him. The blonde said, "I'm not letting you kill Tazuna-san."

Haku nodded, "I know, unfortunately, that means we must fight."

Hikari readied herself, drawing a pair of kunai as Haku drew a handful of senbon. The masked Haku then blurred towards Hikari, slashing at the girl as Hikari blocked it with her kunai.

Hikari then quickly spun and back-kicked Haku away. The hunter nin quickly regained balance and rushed towards Hikari.

She parried a slash from Haku and swung her kunai at him. The teen blocked her attacks easily as he slowly backed away. Haku then flashed through handseals, "Suiton: Sensatsu Suisho!"

A thousand water needles formed around them, all aimed at Hikari. The girl cursed as she quickly flashed through handseals, "Doton: Domu!"

An earth dome rose around her as the needles shot at her, piercing the dome, slowly melting it. Haku thought, 'Not a bad decision, but it still changes nothing.'

The dome started to fall as Hikari flashed through handseals. Then, the dome fell and Hikari charged at Haku, lightning crackling in her palms as she yelled, "Chidori!"

Haku's eyes widened as he leaped away to dodge the attack. He could feel the chakra radiating from the jutsu and was shocked to see such a jutsu.

The teen's eyes narrowed, "Hikari-san, its time to end this. Look around, you're at a disadvantage."

Hikari skidded to a stop as her Chidori faded. She then noticed the ground was wet, with puddles all around. Haku started to flash through handseals, "Water is my forté, we are surrounded by water, not counting the water below the bridge."

Hikari glared at the masked teen, "Even so, I cannot just simply give up."

Haku nodded, "So be it. Hikari-san, let me show you, my kekkei genkai."

The teen flashed through handseals, "Hijutsu: Makyou Hyousho!"

In an instant, Hikari and Haku were surrounded by dozens of ice mirrors. Hikari became wary of the ice mirrors as she asked, "By the way, how did you know my name? I never told you."

Haku stared at the girl, "If you want to find out, break my mask. And the only to do that, is to defeat me."

Hikari nodded, "Very well, I'll just defeat you."

Haku then backed a few steps towards his mirrors, "A good resolve, but, can you even hit me, if you can't see me?"

He stepped into the mirror as his image appeared in all the images. Haku's voice came from all directions, "This is my strongest jutsu, even Zabuza-sama couldn't defeat it, how will you stand against it, Hikari-san?"

Hikari just glared at the images around her as she drew her kunai. Haku sighed, 'A defensive position, I guess she's not stupid enough to attack head on. Then I'll just have to make the first move.'

The reflections all readied their senbon. The girl thought, 'They don't look like clones, maybe there's only one of them. If I can just figure out where the original is.'

Hikari crossed her fingers, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

In an instant, 50 clones appeared around her and charged the mirrors. Haku spoke, "Not a bad strategy, but its useless."

The reflections all threw their senbon. In that instant, all the clones dispersed as the senbon hit the clones. Hikari cursed, 'They came from everywhere, I couldn't see a thing. I'm gonna have to get out first.'

Haku stood in one of his mirrors as he looked down at the smoke screen the clones caused.

Then he noticed movement and saw Hikari trying to leave the ice dome. He threw a handful of senbon towards her and it pierced the back of her thigh.

Hikari gritted her teeth in pain and quickly threw her kunai in that direction, charging it with electricity as she did. Haku's eyes widened in surprise as he threw senbon at the kunai.

The senbon didn't stop the kunai. The knife sliced through the ice and grazed Haku's mask despite being in the ice. The feminine boy stared at Hikari who took out the senbon on her legs.

Haku spoke, "I'm impressed. You figured out where I was. But, there won't be a next time."

Hikari grinned, "Is that so? I won't let you get out of that block."

Haku tilted his head, "Are you sure?"

Hikari flashed through handseals, "Oh I'm sure, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! Chidori!"

A dozen clones appeared as the girl's hand was covered in lightning. The girl then charged forward, with the clones shielding her. Hikari covered the distance quickly and slammed her arm into the ice block.

Her eyes widened as the reflection faded. The girl's eyes widened in pain as several senbon lodged into her back. She quickly pulled out her arm and held her kunai in defense position.

Haku spoke, "Normally, that would have been a sound strategy, but, you see, my speed is simply too fast."

Three senbon lodged into Hikari's left arm as Haku spoke, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you."

Another few senbon lodged into Hikari's right arm as she gasped in pain. Haku continued, "What I'm doing, is not clones, nor is it genjutsu."

Five senbon pierced through Hikari's legs as she fell to one knee. Haku said,"I am using pure speed, to enter and exit my mirrors quickly."

Another few senbon pierced Hikari's forearms, making her wince in pain as Haku continued, "My speed is too fast for you to perceive normally."

Four senbon came from the left and the back as they pierced through the girl's skin. Haku said sadly, "I really don't want to kill you, please surrender, Hikari-san."

Hikari glared at the mirrors, "To hell with that. I cannot just give up here, I haven't become Hokage, and Kirito-kun, despite not being a ninja, is fighting Zabuza out there. I can't afford to give up here."

Haku sighed as he thought, 'I guess we really are similar, Hikari-san. If only we met in a different way.'

Haku spoke coldly, "I see. Then, just die."

The masked teen drew a handful of senbon, and in an instant, Hikari was covered in senbon all over as she gritted her teeth in pain. Haku spoke, "It's over."

Haku moved to finish her, but before he could draw senbon, a voice yelled, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

A huge fireball slammed into the mirror dome as a figure landed in front of the girl. Hikari said in pain and surprise, "Sasuke? What are you doing here?"

The Uchiha looked at her, "I'm here to fight. Two thugs came for Tazuna's family, and he is coming to finish everyone off."

(Flashback earlier)

Sasuke and Sakura were sitting idly as they watched Tsunami and Inari clean the house.

Then, they heard a loud voice, "Hey bro, you think we should do this politely or the Waraji way?"

Another voice replied, "Who cares? Just knock down the damn door."

The first voice sighed, "Fine."

Sasuke looked at Tsunami and Inari who kept silent. He then looked at Sakura who nodded as they moved to the door.

Then, as soon as the door opened, the two gennin moved.

A few moments later, the two thugs found themselves tied up in front of the house. Sasuke asked, "Tell me, who sent you?"

The first thug huffed, "Who else?"

Sasuke glared at the thug and kicked him over, placing his feet on his head, "Answer the question."

The thug growled, "Gato. He sent us to capture that woman and her child!"

Sakura asked, "Why?"

The other thug shrugged, "Something about killing everyone on the bridge and see them despair or something."

Sasuke looked at Sakura, "Sakura, can you handle this? I'm gonna tell them."

Sakura nodded as the Uchiha left the area.

(Flashback end)

Hikari glared at the last Uchiha, "Then why did you come into the dome? You could have attacked from the outside."

Sasuke grunted, "I am an Uchiha, attacking from behind is not my style."

Hikari thought, 'Not his style my ass.'

Sasuke then looked at her in the eye, "Besides, I cannot just let you die."

If Kirito had said that, she would have been happy. If any other man or guy said that, she would have felt flattered. But when Sasuke said it, she just wanted to puke. But regardless, the girl didn't say or show anything.

Having said that, Sasuke turned to face one of the mirrors. Sasuke glared at the mirror, "Fake hunter nin, I shall take your life."

Haku sighed, "You're in the way."

As Sasuke charged forward, Haku drew his senbon and threw. In an instant, Sasuke was covered in needles as he fell to the ground in pain.

The Uchiha grunted as he struggled to stand up. Haku sighed, "You are an idiot. If you attacked me from the outside, with an attack powerful enough, you could have won."

Haku drew his senbon, "But, you came in. And that will be your last mistake."

The masked ninja threw the needles, and at that moment, everything around Sasuke slowed down. The Uchiha could see the needles coming and dodged them.

The emo blinked, "What was that? Everything slowed down."

Haku blinked, "Oh, you dodged it. But, it won't happen again."

Haku threw his senbon, and like before, Sasuke saw them coming and dodged them. Hikari noticed that Haku wasn't attacking from everywhere, instead from several points, then she saw Sasuke's eyes.

The girl said, gaining their attention, "Sasuke, your eyes."

Sasuke turned to looked at Hikari as her words hit him, "My eyes, that means... yeah, my Sharingan has activated. I am invincible!"

He turned to glare at Haku, his Sharingan spinning wildly, albeit with only one tomoe, "With my Sharingan, I will defeat you!"

Haku tilted his head, "Try it."

Sasuke charged the mirrors and flashed through handseals, "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!"

He spat a dozen fireballs and hid shuriken in them. Haku didn't bother to do anything as the fireballs and shuriken bounced off the mirrors harmlessly.

The masked nin spoke, "Is that it?"

Sasuke growled and flashed through another set of handseals, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

He blew a massive fireball that slammed against one of the mirrors. Haku spoke from behind him, "Not bad, but, still not enough."

The Uchiha grunted as he felt several kunai pierce his back. Haku then threw several senbon that pierced Sasuke's legs, causing him to kneel.

The masked teen spoke, "Well, I guess I will deal with you later. I was dealing with Hikari-san first after all."

The masked nin looked at Hikari who was struggling to stand, "I guess you didn't take the mask off, a pity really, Hikari-san."

The feminine guy drew senbon and threw. But before the senbon could reach her, Sasuke appeared in front of Hikari as the senbon lodged into his neck.

Hikari's eyes widened as the last Uchiha fell to the ground limp. Hikari painfully moved to him and saw that he wasn't breathing.

Haku asked, "Is this the first time you lost someone? Its painful, isn't it? That is what happens when we are too weak, Hikari-san. At the end, if we're weak, we won't be able to protect anyone."

In that instant, Hikari saw Kirito in Sasuke's place. Haku's words resonated in her mind as her breathing rate started to increase. Then, she heard a deep growl, "Do you want power?"

Hikari thought, 'Power?'

The voice seemed to nod, "Yeah, power to kill the bastard in front if you. I can give you that power."

Hikari thought, 'Power... to protect Kirito-kun, to protect Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan?'

The voice nodded, "Of course. I can help you."

Hikari nodded, 'Okay.'

The voice nodded, "Good, have fun, girl."

Hikari's eyes widened as she felt a large amount of chakra enter her. It wasn't like anything she felt before, it burned, it felt angry, and it felt powerful.

Hikari's eyes turned red as they became slitted. Her whisker marks deepened as her nails sharpened into claws. The girl roared as she went into a primal stance.

Haku's eyes widened as he felt fear enter him. He could see the red chakra flowing out of her as it formed the shape of an animal, with ears and a tail.

Then she glared straight at him, Haku thought, 'She knows!'

The girl vanished and appeared in front of him, lightning crackling in her hands as she growled, "Chidori!"

Haku barely had time to dodge the attack as the attack shattered the mirror he was in. The masked ninja cursed as he quickly went for another mirror.

Then, as soon as he entered the mirror, Hikari roared as nine chains shot out of her back, piercing the mirrors and dragging Haku onto the floor.

Haku gasped as Hikari appeared in front of him and gave him a hard punch to the mask. The mask shattered and fell to the ground as Haku was sent flying away.

As Haku slowly got up, Hikari's eyes widened, "H-haku-san?"

Haku wiped the blood off his mouth as Hikari asked, "Why?"

Haku stayed silent as Hikari yelled, "Why is it you?!"

Haku stared at the girl straight in the eye, "Its because like you, I also have someone I want to protect."

Hikari clenched her fists, "Do you know what Gato is doing to these people?"

Haku nodded, "I know, that's why I was planning to get Zabuza-sama to kill Gato we killed the bridge builder. Regardless, we need money."

Hikari glared at the feminine boy, "Then, you could have just worked with us, we could have taken down Gato, and you get your money!"

Haku blinked, "Maybe, maybe not. But, I have no intention to fight you anymore. I'll tell Zabuza-sama to stop fighting. The other people who came with us, are... dead."

Haku then said, "By the way, he is not dead."

Hikari was confused, "What do you mean?"

Haku's eyes widened as he saw Kirito and Zabuza, "Sorry, Hikari-san, but I have to go. Zabuza-sama needs me, just pull out the needles."

Hikari blinked, "Eh?"

Haku then took off as Hikari chased behind, and the next thing that happened shocked her to the core.

Back with Kirito and Zabuza, a while after Hikari activated the Kyuubi's chakra, Kirito pushed Zabuza away.

The blacksmith tch'd, "Zabuza, I'll end it here, with this skill!"

He took a pose as his swords glowed light blue. He spoke, "Star Burst Stream."

Kirito then charged. He swung the Elucidator to right horizontally, clashing against Zabuza's sword as it staggered the man. Kirito then gave an uppercut slash with the Dark Repulsor before he spun around.

Then holding both swords, Kirito swung them to the right as he continued to spin, leaving a huge gash on Zabuza's chest. He repeated the action once more before he swung both blades downwards, leaving an X-shaped wound.

Using the momentum, Kirito pulled both swords up, leaving a second X-shaped wound on Zabuza as the man grunted in pain.

He then threw two opposite-directional diagonal slashes, the Dark Repulsor slashing down-left while the Elucidator slashing up-right.

Zabuza gritted his teeth in pain as he swung his Kubikiribocho in attempt to stop Kirito.

But the blacksmith was ready, he lifted both swords up, turning away from Zabuza and dodged the attack before he held both swords in reverse grip. Kirito then slashed downwards, leaving yet another cross-shaped wound on Zabuza.

Zabuza yelled in pain as he swung his sword again. But Kirito saw it coming and spun, parrying the sword away and leaving another gash on Zabuza.

Quickly holding in swords in forward grip again, Kirito swung his blades down again in a cross before pulling them back, leaving two more X-shaped slashes on the man.

Kirito then swung the Elucidator diagonally from the top right and spun, swinging the Dark Repulsor and left a horizontal slash on the man.

Kirito then pulled both swords up, leaving two vertical slashes on Zabuza before he pulled them down again, leaving the same wounds again.

Kirito then spun and slashed Zabuza with the Dark Repulsor diagonally. Zabuza roared in pain as Kirito thrust his Elucidator forward.

This time, Zabuza used the Kubikiribocho to block the attack, causing the sword to fly away as a result. But Kirito wasn't done, he roared as he thrust the Dark Repulsor forward, aiming for Zabuza's chest.

Then, before he could pierce the man, Haku suddenly appeared in front of them and took the attack. Hikari yelled, "Kirito-kun, no!"

But it was too late, the Dark Repulsor pierced through the feminine guy's chest as Haku spat out blood. Zabuza's eyes widened, "Haku, what are you doing?"

The boy painfully turned and smiled at his master, "Zabuza-sama, thank god, I made it."

Kirito pulled his sword out in shock as Haku fell to the floor. Hikari screamed, "Haku!"

The girl ran to the wounded guy as he coughed out blood. Hikari said frantically, "Haku, why did you?!"

Haku chuckled, "I had to protect Zabuza-sama. Sorry, Hikari-san, I guess I won't be able to help you save the village."

Zabuza stared at his protégé, "Haku, that was a foolish thing to do."

The boy smiled, "I know, Zabuza-sama. But I got to save you, just like you saved me."

Zabuza said nothing as Haku looked at Hikari one more time, "Protect your loved ones, Hikari-san, you will become strong."

With that, the light faded from his eyes. Hikari stared at the lifeless eyes of the boy, "No!"

Zabuza stared at Hikari, "Why are you getting so worked up? He was your enemy."

The Uzumaki glared at him, "He cared for you! Haku was willing to do anything for you, doesn't that mean anything?"

Zabuza stared at her coldly, "He was my tool, I was his master, nothing more, nothing less."

Hikari glared at the man as tears rolled down her cheeks, "He cared for you, like you were his father! He died for you!"

Zabuza clenched his fists as tears started to flow, "I know. Please, just stop."

Hikari's eyes widened slightly as she saw him cry. Kakashi, Yugao, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha just stared at them somberly as they reached them just to see Kirito's sword pierce through Haku.

Then, before anyone could say or do anything, they heard the sound of clapping.

A short fat man walked out of the mist and spoke, "Well well well, that was quite the drama, if I do say so myself."

The man frowned, "It makes me want to puke."

Zabuza growled, "Gato."

XXX

Done. So before you guys ask, Hikari is strong yes. But her perception of speed is still slow compared to Haku. That's why she lost. So review please. The next chapter will be the death of Gato and so on, with the visit to the ruins of Uzu no Kuni.

List of sword skills:

Gale Slicer

Rage Spike

Cygnus Onslaughy

End Revolver

Starbursy Stream


	10. Chapter 10

Hey guys. **Flo463** , if you read the Alicization arcs... then you'd have an idea what I plan to do XDXD... btw, I forgot to mention this, but the Acceleration Kirito has will be similar to the Neo Accel the Accel World characters in SAO VS AW has, with a mix of MHA's Izuku's One for All usage.

Meaning Kirito's Acceleration will be basically One For All but in terms of speed without the negative feedback. Just so we're clear, I didn't refer to One for All until I was reading the latest manga and realized that it was similar in terms of usage.

XXX

Zabuza growled, "What are you doing here, Gato?"

The man smirked at the man, "Well, you ninjas are really too pricey. I was thinking of killing you guys once you got the job done."

Zabuza growled, "So, you never planned to pay us?"

Gato nodded, "Exactly, since those three others I called are dead, you're the only one left. And the Konoha nin are all exhausted."

A hundred thugs came into view as Gato smirked, "Surely you don't think you can win against these odds?"

Zabuza looked at Hikari, "Girl, do you have a kunai?"

The girl nodded and took out a kunai. Zabuza grabbed it and walked forward. Hikari spoke, "Hey, what are you doing?"

The man replied without turning back, "Atoning for my sins."

Kirito sighed, "Oi Zabuza, you really don't get it, do you?"

The man looked at the blacksmith, "What do you mean?"

Kirito sheathed the Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor as he walked forward, "You were saved, by him. Don't just go wasting your life. Your life is not just yours now."

The blacksmith brought up his arms and chanted, "Rise, rage, dance, spirits of the storm."

Chakra flowed through Kirito's arms as wind started to blow. Kirito thrust his arms forward and yelled, "Blow them away, TEMPESTA!"

Then, from his arms, a huge torrent of wind and storm shot out at the army of thugs. In an instant, the tornado wiped out all of the thugs, leaving Gato standing with his clothes in tatters.

Kakashi whistled, "That's one sick attack."

Yugao nodded while Asuna, Suguha and Sinon were shocked at the power Kirito emitted. The blacksmith walked forward and grabbed Gato by the collar before he threw him onto the ground, in front of Zabuza and Hikari.

Kirito spoke, "He's yours to do as you deem fit."

Zabuza nodded and picked up his sword, letting blood flow into it as the blade repaired itself. The man grabbed Gato and lifted him up.

The fat man pleaded, "Zabuza, please don't do this! I'll give you money, women, everything you want!"

Zabuza glared at the man, "Can you bring back the dead?"

Gato's eyes widened as Zabuza growled, "You can't, can you? What I want now, is your life!"

Zabuza threw the man up and stabbed his sword through Gato's body before he swung the sword, cutting the pathetic man in half.

Kirito nodded while Kakashi and Yugao just stared at the man, still wary. Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and Hikari just looked away from the gore while Tazuna turned green.

A few days later, the village was in high spirits. Gato was dead and with the help of Zabuza, they had looted Gato's hideouts and got back the money Gato took from them. They even took over Gato's shipping company.

They also had a proper burial for the dead, including Haku, excluding the other three who died on the bridge of course.

Everyone had decided to finish the bridge and they worked together to build it. And in that week, the village managed to finish the bridge, with help from the shinobi of course.

Now, the teams of Konoha Shinobi, Kirito and Zabuza were standing in front of the bridge, with most of the villagers behind Tazuna.

Tazuna handed the team a scroll, "Please hand this to the Hokage. Its a trading alliance proposal."

Kakashi accepted it and said, "Thank you."

Tazuna shook his head, "No, its thanks to you we even managed to build the bridge, much less kill Gato. Thank you for that, Zabuza-san."

The nuke nin replied, "Hmph, I was planning on killing him after I got the money anyways."

Kirito looked at the man, "So, Zabuza, what will you do now?"

The man shrugged, "No idea, maybe I'll stay here for a while. I can't just go wasting my life now."

The blacksmith nodded. Kakashi then said, "Well, it was a pleasure working with you, Tazuna-san. Good fortune and all those stuff, we shall take our leave."

Inari beamed at Hikari, "You'll come visit us, right, Hikari-neesan?"

The blonde nodded, "Yeah, we will visit. So I want to see you all grown up next time."

The boy nodded happily as he hugged the girl. Tazuna nodded gratefully as the two teams from Konoha and Kirito left, leaving Tazuna and Zabuza standing there.

Tazuna looked at the man, "So, Zabuza-san, are you going to stay here?"

The man nodded, "For now. Haku gave his life to protect me, he died here on this bridge, I guess I'll stay here for a while."

The bridge builder nodded, "I see. Well, you're welcome in the village anytime."

Zabuza nodded before someone asked, "So, what will we name the bridge?"

Tazuna pondered for a while, "Hmm, how about the Tazuna Bridge?"

A random civilian yelled, "That's lame! We need something cool."

They started arguing about the names for the bridge as Zabuza chuckled, 'This isn't half bad, I wouldn't mind staying here.'

Later, they would end up naming the bridge the Bridge of Freedom.

With team 7, team 11 and Kirito, they were walking towards the ruins of Uzu no Kuni. They soon reached a harbour. Kakashi looked at Kirito, "So, how do we proceed?"

Kirito nodded and went to look at the boats, "We need a boat, preferably a large one. Don't worry about the pricing, I'll pay."

They nodded and started looking to charter a boat. Everyone they asked denied the request before Kirito found an old man with a decent sized yacht.

Kirito asked, "Excuse me, I'd like to charter a boat."

The man looked at him, "Where do you wanna go?"

Kirito said, smiling nervously, "Well, I'm headed to the ruins of Uzu no Kuni."

The man stared at him, "Everyone denied your request and thought you were a mad man?"

Kirito nodded. The old man chuckled, "Well, come on then, its been a while since I last went to the island, but I heard that there are whirlpools around there now. How many people are we talking about?"

Kirito smiled and beckoned the teams to come over, "Erm, nine, including myself. Its okay if you don't take us directly to the island."

The old man nodded, "Fine, that'll cost you five thousand ryo per person."

Kirito blinked, "Okay, so, when can we go?"

The man nodded, "Let me get my stuff, the trip there is rough.

Kirito nodded as the man went to take his stuff. Yugao asked, "So, he agreed?"

Kirito nodded, "A bit pricey, but its fine."

Kakashi nodded, "Okay."

Soon, the teams were on the yacht sailing towards Uzu no Kuni. As they sailed, they quickly arrived to see many whirlpools. The old man yelled, "Hey kid! This is as far as I can take you without the ship sinking!"

Kirito nodded, but he was more focused on Hikari. The Uzumaki had a glazed look, "This is..."

Kirito asked, "Hikari-chan, do you feel anything?"

The girl nodded, "It feels familiar, like its calling out to me."

Then, before they could say anything, one of the whirlpools subsided, opening a path to the island. The old man blinked as he said, "Well, looks like we get to go to the island after all. "

The ship started to sail into the path and headed towards the island. Soon, they went on shore and they were met with a land filled with the remains of buildings, which apart from being slightly old, the buildings were pretty much complete.

Hikari stared at the area in shock, "This is..."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, the ruins of Uzushiogakure."

Asuna marvelled at the remains, "How long were these here? They look recent."

Kakashi and Yugao had an idea. The Hatake replied, "These were here since the Second Ninja World War. The seals of the Uzumaki have kept them maintained so far."

Kirito nodded, "Seals can do anything."

Yugao nodded, "Yes, they can."

Sasuke, Sakura, Sinon and Suguha just stayed silent. The old man then spoke, "Well, get on with what you came for, I'm gonna enjoy the sea breeze, its been a while."

They nodded as Kirito said, "Okay, lets start searching, with luck, we might find something of importance to Hikari-chan's clan. Group up here in two hours, then we'll see how it goes."

The group nodded and they started to move into the island, keeping an eye out for anything of value. Sasuke just ignored most of it as he walked.

Two hours later, the group came back to the meeting. Sasuke, as expected, and Sakura couldn't find anything. Kakashi found a few scrolls on the Uzumaki water ninjutsu, Yugao found a scroll on the Uzumaki's Adamantine Chains. Asuna, Suguha and Sinon all found a scroll each and decided to bring it back.

Hikari meanwhile, brought back three scrolls with Kirito. The blacksmith grinned, "Well, we've achieved the least that I wanted, I thought since these are Uzumaki stuff, they'd put some seals only Uzumaki could open turns out I was right."

Sasuke grunted, "How so?"

Kirito chuckled, "Blood seals, without Hikari-chan's blood, no one can open the seals, along with several other seals I have no idea about. But we got the Uzumaki family scroll, a Dragon summoning scroll and a scroll containing all 10 levels of the Uzumaki sealing techniques."

Hikari nodded, "So, what did you guys find?"

Sasuke grunted, "Nothing, there wasn't much of value."

Sakura nodded, "Yeah, mostly remains that I couldn't make heads or tails of."

Kakashi chuckled, "Well, I found a scroll on the Uzumaki jutsu, so I believe this belongs to you."

The man handed the scroll to his late teacher's daughter. Hikari took the scroll gratefully as Yugao said, "Well, I found a scroll on the Uzumaki's Kongo Fusa."

Hikari blinked as she took the scroll, "Adamantine Chains?"

Yugao nodded, "If I remember correctly, its a bloodline in the Uzumaki clan that only manifested in women. So you could have them."

Asuna then spoke, "We don't know what these scrolls are though, we just took them."

The girls are gave Hikari the scrolls before Kakashi saw them. The cyclops said in surprise, "These are summoning scrolls, for orca, cats and birds?"

Yugao was surprised, "I remembered that the Uzumaki clan had so much skill in the sealing arts that they could create summoning contracts anytime. To think we'd find them here."

Sasuke was interested and asked, "So what are these summoning contracts?"

Kakashi looked at his student, "Remember how the academy taught you the three Sannin and their summons?"

Sasuke and Sakura nodded. Kakashi continued, "These contracts are what allow them to summon the ... umm summons. In their case, they carry their contracts, so no one can get them easily."

Sasuke looked at the scrolls, "So if I signed any of these, I could summon the creatures the contract is tied to?"

Kakashi nodded, "But they all belong to Hikari now, actually since Hikari might be the last Uzumaki, theoritically this entire island is hers."

Hikari was surprised, "Really?"

Kirito nodded, "Originally, this island belonged to the Uzumaki clan, whom invited others to live here. But in the 3rd Ninja World War, Kumo, Kiri and Iwa ganged up on this nation. They lasted for quite an amount of time, but Konoha still couldn't send help in time."

Hikari nodded sadly, "I see."

The girl then smiled, "Well, its all in the past now, besides, all I need now is my family. So, Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan, Sinon-chan, you three can sign those contracts if you want, I'mma sign this dragon contract."

The girls looked at the scrolls in their hands and Sinon asked, "Are you sure? These belonged to your clan."

Hikari grinned, "Of course. Besides, if I remember correctly, we can't sign more than one contract, right? It'd be a waste to just leave them here."

Asuna and Suguha nodded. Asuna smiled, "Then, thanks, Hikari-chan."

Sasuke grunted as he looked at Hikari, "Hey, Hikari, can I sign one of those?"

Hikari pondered a while and looked at Kirito, "Kirito-kun, what do you think?"

The blacksmith stared at the girl, "It belongs to you, its yours to decide."

Hikari nodded, "Sorry, Sasuke. But these will be my family's treasures."

Sasuke grunted, "I see. Very well."

The emo turned away and thought, 'No matter. You'll join my clan soon anyway.'

Sakura just decided to follow Sasuke away. Kakashi then said, "You'd better sign them back in the village, who knows what will happen."

The girls nodded before Yugao asked, "By the way, did you open the family scroll?"

Hikari smiled and.shook her head, "I was planning to open it once we got home."

The Jounin nodded. Kakashi then asked, "So, anything else?"

Kirito then remembered, "Oh yeah, I still wanna see if there's the chakra metal around."

Yugao deadpanned at the boy, "There isn't anyone here to make chakra metal."

Kirito grinned, "Ah, but the shops around here might have them."

Asuna sighed, "Well, it won't hurt to check."

Suguha and Sinon nodded. Kakashi sighed, "Well, Sasuke and Sakura have most probably gone back to the ship. So sure, let's go."

Kirito grinned as they went to look for shops that could have chakra metal. As they walked, they saw many smithies all around the village. In them were well maintained swords of all kinds, it was heaven for Kirito and Yugao.

The blacksmith marvelled at them, "Holy fuck. These swords are so well-maintained! Is this the power of seals?"

Yugao nodded in agreement as she traced her fingers across one of the blades, "They even have all these seals on them, what are they for?"

Hikari was looking around before she saw a red-haired man, or rather, a semi-transparent man looking at them. The girl blinked, she felt like she knew the man.

The man beckoned the girl to follow him. Hikari curiously followed him towards a tower that looked a lot like the Hokage tower. Suguha noticed this and asked, "Hikari-chan, where are you going?"

The girl didn't respond and continued walking after the man. Sinon looked at Asuna and Suguha and nodded. Suguha called, "Kirito-kun."

The blacksmith looked away from the swords and saw that they were beckoning to follow them.

Kirito spoke, "Yugao-san, Kakashi-san, we gotta go."

The two jounin blinked before they followed him out as they started to walk after Hikari. The blacksmith asked, "What happened?"

Asuna replied, "Hikari-chan suddenly walked away, we gotta follow her."

Kirito nodded as they quickly went after the girl. Soon they entered a tower similar to the Hokage tower and reached to see Hikari enter a room. They quickly entered the room to see Hikari and a red haired man.

Kirito spoke, "Hikari-chan."

The girl turned, "Kirito-kun?"

The red haired man then spoke, "Welcome to Uzushiogakure, or at least what's left of it."

Kirito looked at the semi-transparent man, "Who are you?"

The man smiled, "I am Uzumaki Ashina. You can say I'm the young Uzumaki's ancestor."

Hikari stared at the man, "My ancestor?"

The man grinned, "More of a great-grandfather actually. Its good to finally see an Uzumaki visit our home. You're the first to come here in decades, after our country fell."

Hikari asked, "Why did you want me to follow you?"

Ashina turned serious, "To tell you something, you carry my daughter Mito's burden after all."

Asuna blinked, "Mito? As in Senju Hashirama's wife?"

Ashina nodded, "The very same. Mito is Hikari's grand-aunt."

Sinon's eyes widened, "Grand-aunt? So Hikari-chan is related to the first Hokage?"

Ashina laughed, "Girl, Hikari's lineage is more than that."

Hikari blinked, "Wait, how do you know my name?"

The old man laughed, "My girl, every Uzumaki is linked together by our seals. Your mother placed your blood and name in the family scroll, plus, once you entered the island, I knew exactly who you were."

Hikari asked, "My mother?"

Ashina nodded, "Yes, I will get to that later. First let me tell you our history, you know nothing of our clan, don't you?"

Hikari nodded. Kakashi sighed, "Someone removed it from the academy, no one knows about the Uzumaki clan anymore, but we still use the Uzumaki clan symbol."

Ashina nodded, "I see. But what's important is that Hikari, you learn our clan's history."

Hikari nodded as the spectre snapped his fingers and several seals in the room glowed.

Ashina spoke, "Our clan started from one of the descendants of Otsutsuki Asura, the younger son of Otsutsuki Hagoromo, the Rikudo Sennin. As descendants of the same man, we kept close ties with the Senju clan, even if we were on different lands."

Ashina let out a breath as the symbol of the Uzumaki clan and the Senju clan appeared with the map of the Elemental Nations.

The old head of the Uzumaki clan spoke, "When Hashirama and Madara started Konohagakure, we provided them support, with money and manpower. We helped them through the First and Second Ninja World War and officially started our alliance."

Ashina paused and continued, "Hashirama was young, very young and he sought advice whenever he could. As a way to bring our clans closer, I sent my first daughter, Mito, to him. Time passed, and as a sign of friendship, Konoha had our clan symbol on their flak jacket."

Ashina looked at Hikari, "We also built our clan temple outside of Konoha. Whenever they needed it, our village provided seals to help them. Then, Madara used the Kyuubi, as a result, Mito became the first Jinchurikii of the Kyuubi."

The man looked out the window and continued, "After I died, and Mito and the others got old, we sent your mother, my granddaughter to Konoha to take over Mito's burden as the Jinchurikii of the Kyuubi."

The seals projected a young girl, Ashina spoke, "Your mother, Uzumaki Kushina, was sent to Konoha for that. She became a strong kunoichi indeed. Soon after she was sent there, the Third Ninja World War began. At some point, Kumo, Kiri and Iwa attacked us. Konoha didn't make it, but we didn't go down without a fight. Uzushiogakure, we took down more than half of their forces before our clan died. But even then, we didn't go extinct."

Ashina looked at Hikari, "You're not the last one. I sense it. Find our brethen, if you can, rebuild our clan."

Ashina looked at Kirito, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon. The old man spoke, "Your name, is Kirito, right?"

Kirito nodded and Ashina grinned, "Protect her. You are one of the Underworld, you possess strength far more than any of us can even dream of. You will find out about your heritage soon, but its not my place to tell you."

Ashina then looked at all of them, "Take whatever you need, our village had seals to maintain it. Feel free to come back, Hikari, our land will never forget you, even if you forget it."

Hikari nodded, "Hai, Ojiisan."

Ashina grinned, "My time is almost up, I'll need to recharge. If you want to come back, just come, the seals will respond to you since you set foot on the island. I'll be here if you need me."

Hikari nodded as the seals stopped glowing and Ashina faded. Kakashi nodded, "Well, that's it I guess."

Hikari nodded, "I think that's all, Kirito-kun, you can get the chakra metal. Yugao-sensei, if you want to, you get the swords."

Yugao and Kirito grinned and vanished to get the metal and swords. The girls just sighed as Kakashi chuckled.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was wandering through the village. Sakura had gone back to the ship while the Uchiha decided to wander around, seeing if there was anything of value he could get to be stronger.

As he walked, a sword caught his attention. It was stabbed on the ground, held by a skeleton with Uzumaki armor. The sword was a chokuto with a black and red hilt.

Sasuke walked to it, he noticed the skeleton seemed to be kneeling while holding onto the sword, as if it died while stabbing the sword onto the ground but didn't let go.

Sasuke grunted and grabbed the sword. As soon as he touched the skeleton's fingers, they turned to dust, but the sword stayed firm. As his hand gripped the sword, he heard a raspy voice, "Uchiha, let go of the sword."

Sasuke ignored it and pulled, then an invisible field blasted him away from it. The Uchiha grunted, "What the fuck?"

The raspy voice grew angry and louder as a silhouette appeared, "You are not welcome here, Uchiha. Leave."

Sasuke glared at the silhoutte, "What are you?!"

The silhoutte just replied, "Leave, now!"

The Uchiha growled, "Not before I take the sword."

The voice grew angry, "You are tainted. You are not worthy!"

Sasuke growled, "I am an Uchiha, I am always worthy!"

Just then, Hikari and the rest arrived. Kakashi asked, "Sasuke, what did you do?"

The silhoutte replied angrily, "He tried to take my sword. Ashina may have allowed you to take from the village, but I will not allow anyone but an Uzumaki to even hold my sword, especially not someone as tainted as him."

Sasuke growled, "You are dead. You have no right to deny me."

Hikari glared at the Uchiha, "Sasuke, just stop. You don't disrespect the dead, especially not my ancestors."

The others nodded as Kakashi gripped Sasuke's shoulder, "Just don't, what would you do, if someone disrespected your clan?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the man, "Fine. Let's get out of this place."

Hikari just glared at the Uchiha as he walked out. The girl was starting to really dislike the last Uchiha. As the teen left, the silhoutte spoke, "Thank you, young Uzumaki."

Hikari smiled at the silhoutte, "Its fine, I won't disturb your rest. We're leaving."

The silhoutte seemed to smile as it faded, "Very well."

The skeleton then faded to dust, leaving the sword as Hikari and the group left. As they reached the beach, they saw Sasuke grumbling to himself as Sakura was trying to calm him down.

The captain grinned, "You got what you want?"

Kirito and Hikari nodded. The man nodded, "Come on then, come aboard, its time go back, and to collect my paycheck."

Kirito and Kakashi chuckled while the girls and Yugao sighed. They quickly got onto to boat and sailed back to the main land.

After paying the happy man, the group started to walk back. As they walked, Kirito asked, "Umm, what are we walking so slow for?"

Yugao stared at the blacksmith, "Well, since you're a civilian, so we thought..."

Kirito chuckled, "Eh, I thought since my secret was revealed, you'd think better. I can move at Jounin speed, Yugao-san."

The woman blinked and facepalmed while Kakashi sighed. The girls just stayed quiet while Sasuke brooded. Kakashi nodded, "Fine, we'll run back."

Kirito grinned as they started to run, the blacksmith channeling a bit of his Acceleration, making him take on a slight, barely noticeable red aura.

In half an hour, the group reached the village and it was already 5pm. The group headed for the Hokage tower and entered to ses Hiruzen still working on paper work.

The Sandaime Hokage smiled, "Ah, so you're back."

Kakashi nodded as he gave the Hokage his report verbally. Hiruzen nodded, "I see. I was right then, and Kirito showed you how strong he was, right?"

Kakashi nodded, "It was surprising."

The Hokage nodded as he stared at Kirito and his girls, "Well, Kirito-kun couldn't use chakra the way we do, so I had to find him another way. Good job with Nami no Kuni by the way, the trading alliance will boost our village's economy a lot. So, you found the Uzumaki clan scrolls?"

Hikari nodded, "Yes, but I'm curious, why didn't we learn about my clan in the academy? I mean we learned about all the clans in Konoha, a bit on Suna, Kumo, Iwa and Kiri. We've never even heard of Uzushiogakure, if Kirito-kun didn't tell me, I wouldn't have known."

Hiruzen sighed, "Danzo and the elders removed it. He removed it around two years after you entered the academy, and since you all learn clans in the third year along with the practical stuff, you didn't learn it. I've only managed to reintroduce it this year when you graduated."

Hikari nodded, "I see. Fine. At least I know about my clan, Ashina-ojiisan told me."

Hiruzen snapped his head, "Did you say Ashina?"

Kakashi nodded, "We met Uzumaki Ashina's ghost in the ruins. And Hikari is not the last Uzumaki on the planet."

Hiruzen nodded, "I see. You're all dismissed then, have the week off. Hikari, learn your clan's jutsu well, along with the summons. Since they're your clan's, they belong to you, whoever signs them is up to you."

Hikari nodded as the group left. Before Kakashi left, Hiruzen asked, "Kakashi, does she know yet?"

The last living student of the Yondaime Hokage shoom his head, "No, not yet."

Hiruzen nodded, "I see. Have a good day then."

After the group left, Sasuke immediately went home with Sakura tailing him. Surprisingly, the emo didn't ask Hikari for a date or dinner, but no one cared.

As they walked, they noticed a weird looking 'rock' following them. Hikari sighed, "Konohamaru, you can stop, rocks aren't... what is that shape anyway?"

The 'rock' poofed to reveal a 12 year old boy with a girl and another boy. Konohamaru grinned, "As expected of Hikari-neesan, you really are good."

The girl sighed as Kirito chuckled while Asuna, Sinon and Suguha just smiled.

(Flashback, when Hikari and the others were 12)

Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon were in the Hokage's office. Hiruzen had promised them to bring them for ramen that day and they were waiting for the old man to finish his work.

Kirito was in Kayaba's smithy learning as the girls waited.

Then, the door slammed opened as a young boy rushed in with a wooden shuriken. The boy's sudden appearance surprised the girls but Hiruzen was unfazed.

The boy yelled, "I will defeat you!"

Then, as the boy ran, he stepped on his scarf and slipped, falling to the ground. Asuna asked, "Umm, are you okay?"

The boy stood up and glared at the girls, "You tripped me!"

Sinon blinked, "Umm, you tripped on your scarf. Besides, you shouldn't blame others."

The boy just glared at them as he couldn't refute. Hikari knelt down to the boy and sighed, "Hey, don't get so angry, next time, just be careful and don't wear a long scarf."

The boy glared at the Uzumaki, "My mom gave it to me! I have to wear it!"

Hikari patted the boy's helmet and smiled, "Then wear it when you're older. And smile more, cute boys like you shouldn't glare so much."

The boy blushed slightly and asked, "I'm sorry, umm."

Hikari stood up, "Hikari, what's your name?"

The boy replied, "Konohamaru, Hikari-oneesan."

(Flashback end)

After that, the boy would randomly pop up to meet Hikari and the girls, dubbing them as his 'elder sisters'. Once he found out they were training to be ninja, he tried to surprise them or get them to train him.

The girls decided it wouldn't hurt and sometimes train with him along with their classmates. Some time later, Konohamaru brought two friends along, Udon and Moegi and they trained together.

Then, once, Kirito joined their session and met the three. The two boys had threatened the young blacksmith to not hurt their 'Onee-san' and everyone had laughed.

Now, Konohamaru asked, "So, what are you doing?"

Suguha smiled, "Well, we just came back from a mission, so we were actually heading back home."

Udon nodded, "Oh, I see. Then we won't bother you today, you should all get rest."

Asuna smiled, "Okay, you guys have fun then."

Konohamaru nodded, "We'll go look for Kiba-niisan and Hinata-neesan."

The three then ran off. Kirito then commented, "Did you notice how they didn't say Shino's name?"

The girls blinked before they laughed at how the three kids ignored the quiet Aburame.

Soon, they reached home after buying some food from a restaurant. After they cleaned up and ate dinner, Kirito asked, "So girls, when are you gonna sign those contracts?"

Asuna shrugged, "Maybe tomorrow. Its late now."

Hikari nodded, "I'm thinking of opening the family scrolls, the others I'll look at them tomorrow."

Kirito nodded as the girl brought out the clan family scroll. Hikari bit her thumb and swiped her finger across the spiral shaped seal, opening it up as the scroll loosened.

The girl hesitated a bit when she pulled on the scroll. Kirito saw this and squeezed her hand, "Hikari-chan, no matter who your parents are, you have nothing to fear, we will always be here for you. We already know who your mother is, its just your father."

Asuna, Sinon and Suguha nodded in agreement. Hikari stared at them and nodded before she opened the scroll.

As soon as she opened the scroll, she saw many names, many branches. The girl finished rolling open the scroll and saw her name under two names. One was Uzumaki Kushina, the other was a name everyone knew very well, Namikaze Minato.

XXX

Done. So yeah, the big reveal is here, Hikari found out about her clan and her parents. So the next chapter will be Hikari confronting Hiruzen and so on. Review please.

Spells used:

Tempesta (Non-cannon. Inspired by Tempesta attack from Xelguard from Super Robot Wars X)


	11. Chapter 11

Hey. Please give me some reviews. I know I'm posting a bit fast, and even though I have most things planned out, I still like to see some ideas, and I need feedback. I can only do so much alone guys.

 **C.Rinkuki Takato** , I'm actually focusing on this story more and 'ignoring' my other story. Plus the ideas are coming very quickly for me, so I try to write as much as I can... I'm also typing on my phone, the app, so its quite handy since I can work on it whenever and wherever I want.. I feel you when it comes to slow updates. And to the Underworld... I won't say much, but you're on the right track, according to what my outline is, though it might change. Just read on to find out.

And yeah, I wanted to changed the Acceleration a bit, since if I followed the Neo Accel fully, it's basically Hiraishin. Too OP imo.

Btw, expect some drama here. Let's go.

XXX

The girls looked at the scroll in surprise. Kirito already knew, but he feigned surprise to not let them know that he knew.

Hikari stared at the scroll, "My father... is the Yondaime Hokage?"

The others looked at her and saw that she was on the verge of tears. Asuna asked, "Hikari-chan?"

The girl slumped backwards, "He sealed the Kyuubi into me."

The girl looked at her family as the tears started to roll down her cheeks, "Why did he do it?"

Kirito quickly embraced her, placing her head into his chest as she started to cry harder. The blacksmith spoke, "Hikari-chan, he probably didn't have a choice. I'm sure he and your mother loved you."

Sinon then asked, "Wait, if Hikari-chan is the Yondaime Hokage's daughter, then shouldn't Hokage-sama or Kakashi-sensei know about it?"

Asuna nodded, "It'd make sense. I mean that's probably why Hokage-sama looked after her, and by extension, us so much."

Suguha then asked, "But then why didn't he told her? And why didn't Kakashi-sensei told her?"

Hikari nodded in Kirito's chest. The blacksmith shook his head, "If they told Hikari-chan, if by any chance word got out, her parents' enemies would have come for her life."

Hikari then realized something, she pulled away from Kirito's embrace and asked, "Kirito-kun, you asked Kakashi-sensei to teach me the Rasengan and the Chidori. You knew?"

Kirito's eyes widened slightly, "Hikari-chan, it's not that-"

He was cut off by the blonde, "Answer me."

Kirito sighed and nodded, "Yes, I kne-"

He was cut off by a hard slap from the blonde. Hikari glared at the young man, "You knew. Why didn't you tell me?"

Kirito looked down, "I'm sorry, Hikari-chan, Kayaba-sensei told me not to tell you, it was an S-ranked secret."

Hikari asked again, "How long?"

Kirito blinked, "What?"

The girl repeated, "When did you find out?"

Kirito stayed silent. Hikari glared at him straight in the eye, "Tell me, how long did you know that I was the daughter of the fucking Yondaime Hokage?"

Kirito replied, "Kayaba-sensei told me that day I first fought Sasuke in the academy."

Hikari stared at her boyfriend coldly, "So you knew a long time ago. You, Hokage-sama, Kakashi-sensei, all of you knew, and you lied to me."

She clenched her fists and stood up, walking to the door, "I really hate you right now."

Hikari walked out and slammed the door shut. Kirito sighed, "I messed up."

Sinon nodded as she glared at him, "Yes you did, what were you thinking?"

Kirito sighed, "When I heard it from Kayaba-sensei, I wanted to tell her. But, if I told her, if her parents' enemies knew, and we couldn't protect her, I didn't want to take the risk."

Asuna sighed, "Kirito-kun, you know that we are all orphans, it means a lot to know about our parents. Hikari-chan loves you, but hiding who her parents were, that is taking it too far."

Kirito nodded, "I know. I don't know what to do anymore."

Suguha sighed, "Let her calm down now. In her current state of emotions, nothing you say will reach her. Once she calms down, make up to her."

Sinon nodded, "Yeah."

Kirito sighed, "I just hope so."

With Hikari, the girl laid on top of the Hokage Monument, tears running down her cheeks as she stared up in the night sky. The blonde loved the blacksmith, the girl trusted him a lot, saying that she trusted him with her life wouldn't be exaggerating. She would die for him.

But Kirito lied to her, he hid her parents' identity from her, and that broke her heart. The girl just laid there as she continued to cry.

Then, a familiar voice reached her. Yugao asked, "Hikari, what's wrong?"

The girl opened her eyes and saw the purple haired woman looking at her. The blonde asked, "Yugao-sensei?"

Yugao nodded, "I was talking a night walk after dinner, since Hayate-kun had work. Then I saw you here, what happened?"

The last Uzumaki sat up and hugged her legs, "I found out about my father."

Yugao blinked, "Your father?"

Hikari nodded, "He was the Yondaime Hokage."

Yugao snapped her head at the girl, "Are you serious?!"

The girl nodded, "It was in the clan scroll. Hokage-sama knew, Kakashi-sensei knew, Kirito-kun knew. But all of them didn't tell me."

Yugao sat down beside her, "So, what's got you crying? Shouldn't you be happy?"

Hikari shook her head, "I don't know. Why did my father seal the Kyuubi into me? I seriously don't know. Hokage-sama and Kirito-kun also hid it from me, Kakashi-sensei I don't really care, since I only met him when I became a Gennin, so maybe he thought I knew or something."

The girl hugged her legs closer, "But, Hokage-sama and Kirito-kun, I've known them for so long, yet..."

More tears flowed as she sat there. Yugao sighed, "You feel betrayed, don't you?"

Hikari nodded, "Hokage-sama is like a grand-father to me, and I really love Kirito-kun. But now, I don't know. Yugao-sensei, what should I do?"

Yugao stared at the village, "I don't know. But let me tell you a story, Hikari."

Hikari stared at the swordswoman curiously, "A story?"

Yugao let out a breath, "I have a friend. She was the apprentice of Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin."

Hikari blinked, "Isn't Orochimaru a traitor?"

Yugao nodded, "Yes, before he betrayed the village, my friend was his apprentice. Everyone envied her, calling her the Snake Princess, they thought it was an honor to learn under him."

The woman sighed, "Then Orochimaru betrayed the village and left. My friend was captured by him and he did some experiments on her. When we found her, she was heart-broken."

Yugao looked up into the sky, "My friend was an orphan, much like you. She saw Orochimaru as a father. But then he betrayed everyone. Now, you may not know, but my friend is one of the most hated person in the village. All because Orochimaru betrayed the village."

Hikari nodded, "I see. Then, I guess I am the same."

Yugao shook her head, "Not really. Tell me, Hikari, do you think Kirito loves you for who you are, or because you are the Jinchurikii of the Kyuubi and the daughter of the Yondaime Hokage?"

Hikari looked down at the night view of the village, "I don't know."

Yugao nodded, "Then let's look at it another way, look back on what Kirito has done for you, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha."

Hikari stayed silent as Yugao continued, "I know he has worked very hard for all of you. He would lay down his life for you, for any of the four of you. But men aren't perfect, no matter how they seem, just like we aren't perfect. We all make mistakes."

Hikari stared at the village, "But..."

Yugao sighed, "I'm not telling you to forgive him now. But, I want you to think about why he did it, from his perspective. Then only judge him."

Hikari nodded, "Fine. And umm, Yugao-sensei, I don't want to see him now, can you stay with me here for a while?"

The woman smiled kindly, "Of course."

The two then sat there, watching the view of the night streets of Konohagakure. Soon, the blonde girl fell alseep and leaned against Yugao.

The woman let out a sigh and carefully picked her up to bring her home. As she walked, Yugao's eyes widened as she heard Hikari mumble in her sleep, tears flowing from her closed eyes, "Kirito-kun..."

Yugao sighed, "Damn teenagers."

The woman then quickly brought her to her apartment. When she reached the door, Yugao knocked on it. It opened to reveal Kirito's worried face.

The blacksmith spoke in surprise, "Yugao-san? Is Hikari-chan?"

Yugao nodded, "She's asleep."

The teen quickly let the woman in as they laid Hikari in her room. Yugao sat down on the sofa as Kirito gave her a glass of water.

Yugao asked, "Are the others asleep?"

Kirito nodded. Yugao sighed, "You're an idiot."

The young man nodded, "I know."

The woman stared at the teen, "I'm not saying you should have told her, nor am I agreeing that you did the right thing hiding it. But, Hikari is really hurt."

Kirito nodded. The woman sighed, "You're young, its okay to make mistakes. Learn from them, improve to never make that mistake again. That's life."

The blacksmith nodded, "I know."

Yugao then looked at him, "Why did you hide it? You and I know, you would do anything for her, for them."

Kirito felt ashamed, "When Kayaba-sensei told me, I wanted to tell her. I kept it a secret for the first few days, then I thought, what if I told her, and if someone, if her parents' enemies find out, they come to kill her, and I'm not strong enough."

Yugao nodded, "You thought it'd be better to hide it. To tell her when she was ready."

Kirito nodded. The woman sighed, "A stupid idea."

The teen nodded, "I know."

Yugao then stared at the teen, "But not unreasonable."

Kirito stared at the woman in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Yugao replied, "From your perspective, you were afraid of losing her. After what the villagers put her through, you wouldn't trust it to protect her. You weren't strong enough then too. I wouldn't blame you for thinking like that."

Yugao then continued, "But, for Hokage-sama and Kakashi-senpai, they are even worse. They have the power to protect her. They believe in the village, but they still refused to tell her. They merely thought Hikari couldn't keep her mouth shut and spread it like wildfire. They didn't want to endanger the village, or at least that's what I think."

Kirito nodded. Yugao patted his shoulder, "Well, don't worry too much. Its gonna be fine. Hikari understands that you love her, that you love them. Get some sleep."

Kirito nodded, "Thank you, Yugao-san."

The woman smiled, "Hey, I do have a boyfriend, who is sometimes an idiot as well."

Kirito smiled slightly as the woman left the apartment. The teen sighed as he closed the door before he went to sleep as well.

The next day, Kirito went to his shop early when the girls were still sleeping. The teen didn't forge anything, the shop was loaded and unless someone wanted a custom made weapon or maintenance, he wouldn't need to touch the forge. Besides, he didn't have the mood to do anything.

Back at the apartment, Hikari opened her eyes to see the familiar ceiling in her room. The scrolls they found from the island was on her desk so she just left it there.

The girl walked out of the room and went to brush her teeth and clean up. As she exited the bathroom, she saw Asuna. The auburn haired girl asked, "Hikari-chan, how are you feeling?"

Hikari smiled slightly, "Better now."

Asuna then asked, "Are you... still angry?"

The blonde nodded, "Not at you three, you didn't know. I talked to Yugao-sensei about it last night. But..."

Asuna nodded, "I see. Then, we won't push you. I'll make breakfast, can you wake Sinon-chan and Suguha-chan?"

The girl nodded and went to wake the two other girls.

Meanwhile, Yugao was in the Hokage's office. The woman was staring at her leader coldly, "Hokage-sama, Hikari found out about her lineage."

The old man's eyes widened, "Who told her?"

Yugao replied, "The scroll."

Hiruzen sighed, "I see. I guess it can't be helped then."

Yugao glared at him, "So, why did you hid it from her?"

Hiruzen looked at the woman, "To protect her. You know her parents have enemies all over the world. We can't let them find her."

Yugao spoke, "But-"

Hiruzen cut her off, "Yugao, drop it. I was going to tell her when she was ready. That's all. You're dismissed."

The woman nodded and walked out of the building. The old Hokage sighed before he spoke, "Anbu, bring me Kirito, drag him here if you need to."

A mouse shaped masked Anbu appeared and nodded, vanishing to bring Kirito.

A while later, the blacksmith stood in front of the Hokage. Hiruzen asked sternly, "You knew that if you found the Uzumaki clan scrolls, Hikari would have learned about her lineage, didn't you?"

Kirito stayed silent as he stared at the old man. Hiruzen sighed, "Of course you knew. I told you I would tell her when the time was right, you still went ahead and let her know, why?"

Kirito stared at the old Sarutobi, "Its her right, her parents. She has the right to know."

Hiruzen said sternly, "Its not your place to decide."

Kirito stared back, "Nor is it yours. You told the village of her status as a Jinchurikii, but you didn't tell them the whole truth, that was and still is a load of bullshit."

Hiruzen glared at the boy, "Remember who you're talking to, boy. I don't have to explain myself to you."

Kirito glared back, "I'm not one of your ninja. You have no power over me, at the end I'm just a mercenary."

The blacksmith paused as he glared at the old man, "Hikari-chan was hurt when she found out. I don't want that to happen again. I fight to protect those girls, to keep them happy regardless of my relationship with them, even if I have to kill you, even if I have to destroy the world."

For a brief moment, Kirito's eyes turned yellow and Hiruzen suddenly found himself unable to breathe. The Anbu around them were frozen in fear as Kirito unleashed a huge aura.

Then, the aura vanished as Kirito turned, "That's all, right?"

Hiruzen nodded dumbly as the young man excused himself. One of the Anbu asked as he appeared before the Hokage, "Hokage-sama, do we need to follow him?"

The Sarutobi shook his head, "Leave him. Its my fault we're in this mess anyways."

The Anbu nodded and vanished to his position. Hiruzen thought, 'I'm gonna have to talk to Kayaba.'

With Kirito, he went back to his shop and put up the sign that he was in Dicey Cafe, locking the glass door as he went into the Agil's shop.

The young man sat down and saw Agil brewing some coffee. As usual, the cafe was half full with people.

As he sat down, Agil greeted, "Hey, the usual?"

Kirito nodded as the man went to get his drink. As the blacksmith sat there silently, a familiar voice reached him, "Hey gaki, what's got you so down?"

The swordsman turned to see a woman wearing a trench coat, a dango stick in her mouth. Kirito sighed, "Hey, Anko-san."

Anko sat down beside him at the counter and asked, "Its been a while since I saw you, and now I see you, you look like you have some shit on your mind."

Kirito shook his head, "Its nothing."

Agil chuckled as he slid Kirito's drink to him, "You should just tell her, she'll bug you non-stop if you don't."

Anko grinned, "Damn right I will."

Kirito sighed, "I... I made a mistake. Now, Hikari-chan probably hates me. I don't know how to proceed."

Anko nodded, "So, girl trouble. Then, I believe I can help you with that."

Kirito blinked, "You can?"

The woman nodded, "Of course. I heard it from Yugao-chan just a while ago."

Kirito blinked as Anko dragged the teen off, "Hey, where are we going?"

Anko grinned, "The training fields."

Soon, the two were standing on the training field. Anko looked at the young man and said, "Wait here, if I come back and you moved, I'll kick your ass hard."

Kirito nodded as the woman vanished via Shunshin.

In another training field, Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha were training. Since they had the week off, they decided to train a bit for the day and rest the next few days.

Then, Anko appeared and greeted them. The girls were slightly surprised by the woman but quickly got over it. They had met Anko a while after they formed their teams, especially Asuna, Sinon and Suguha since Yugao brought them to meet her.

The dango lover grinned, "Hey, are you busy?"

The girls shook their heads. Asuna replied, "Not really, why?"

Anko looked at Hikari, "Well, I heard you had a little... argument with Kirito, so I want to help a bit."

Hikari blinked, "What?"

Anko grinned, "Just come with me. You other girls just stay here and continue. I just need Hikari to follow me."

Sinon, Suguha and Asuna looked at each other and nodded. The archer spoke, "I guess its okay, Hikari-chan?"

The blonde nodded and Anko placed a hand on Hikari's shoulder. Then they vanished via Shunshin.

The two then arrived at another training field, and Hikari saw Kirito in his coat. The girl blinked, "Kirito-kun?"

Before Kirito could reply, Anko spoke, "You two, are gonna have a sparring match."

Kirito asked, "Anko-san, what are you doing?"

Anko ignored him and looked at the girl, "You really wanna punch him hard, right?"

Hikari looked away, "You're not wrong... but..."

Anko grinned, "Don't worry about hurting him, from what Yugao-chan told me, he fought Zabuza, right?"

Hikari nodded as the woman grinned, "Then just spar with him, you might understand something."

Anko then looked at the swordsman, "Draw your swords."

Kirito was confused, "What are talking about?"

Anko stared at the blacksmith, "You two are going have a full contact sparring match. Now."

Hikari nodded and stepped forward, facing the teen. Kirito said, "Hikari-chan..."

The girl spoke, "Draw your swords, Kirito-kun. I want to know, why you hid it, why you lied. I don't want to hear it from your mouth, I want to hear it from your heart."

Kirito stared at the girl, "When people clash fists, they attain a mutual understanding, is that it?"

Anko grinned, "Bingo."

The young man nodded, "Fine."

Kirito unsealed his two swords and unsheathed them. He held the Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor in a stance, "I won't hold back."

Hikari nodded and drew a pair of kunai. Anko nodded, "Very well, begin!"

The girl immediately shot forward and swung her knives at the boy she loved. Kirito blocked the kunai as they pushed against each other.

Kirito pushed her away and swung his swords. Hikari bent backwards and dodged them before she spun and kicked Kirito away.

Hikari quickly threw the kunai at him before she flashed through handseals. Kirito parried the kunai before he noticed Hikari yelling, "Chidori!"

The girl shot forward with the lightning in her palms. Kirito bent his knees as he crossed his swords, the two blades glowing light blue, "Cross Block."

The lightning clad arm clashed against the two swords as Hikari pushed against the swords. Kirito pushed back with equal strength before Hikari leaped away.

The girl's eyes slightly widened as she felt a torrent of emotions flowing through her. Hikari felt like she understood why Kirito fought, why he took up the blades.

They continued their spar as the two lovers traded attacks, slowly understanding each other more than they ever had.

Meanwhile, Hiruzen was in Kayaba's smithy. The master blacksmith asked, "So, what brings you here? Another apprentice?"

The Sarutobi chuckled, "No. Actually, I'm here about Kirito."

Kayaba raised an eyebrow, "What of him?"

The Hokage looked at his friend, "You told him about Hikari's heritage, didn't you?"

Kayaba nodded, "If he is to succeed me, he needs to know everything."

Hiruzen nodded, "I know. To be honest, the boy has more than earned my respect. He stared down at me because I kept Hikari's lineage from her. Kirito will be one of the strongest people in the world soon."

The master blacksmith chuckled, "I know, if he _is_ one of the Underworld, he'll be stronger."

Hiruzen nodded, "Just now, I called him to my office. His eyes turned yellow and I felt it, the power from the Underworld."

Kayaba turned to look at the old man and said, "Yellow? Are you sure?"

Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, his eyes turned yellow and I felt the power flowing from him. His aura is strong."

Kayaba nodded, "So he's activating the first stage. I guess I can start my own plans soon."

Hiruzen sighed, "I can't talk you out of that, can I?"

The blacksmith shook his head, "No. We've gone through this a lot of times. I will do it, it's my dream to see a floating castle after all."

Hiruzen nodded, "Fine. So, will you tell him, about his blood of the Underworld?"

Kayaba shook his head, "Until he awakens it, Kirito cannot know. Besides, the path to the Underworld is closed for now. We need to set everything in place first for it to open. If things haven't changed there, we'd probably need to fight for our lives."

Hiruzen nodded, "True. We need to prepare. Plus the Akatsuki and the bijuu."

Kayaba nodded, "Well, I have work to do. Do you need anything else?"

Hiruzen shook his head, "No, that's all. Have a nice day, I'm gonna have stroll."

The swordsman nodded as the Hokage left the shop.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was looking for Hikari. He had heard that she got into a fight with Kirito and thought it was his chance.

The last Uchiha saw Asuna, Sinon and Suguha and walked to them. Asuna saw him and greeted, "Hello, Sasuke."

Sasuke grunted in response, "Have you seen Hikari?"

Suguha looked at the two girls and replied, "Well, she just went with Anko-san."

Sasuke nodded, "I see, do you know where they went?"

Sinon sighed, "No, besides, what do you want with her anyways?"

Sasuke blinked, "I heard that she got into a fight with Kirito or something. So as teammate, I wanted to see how she was doing."

Asuna sighed, "Sasuke, she's fine now. Besides, she is with Kirito-kun now, just stop bothering her."

Sasuke just let out a breath and turned, "What I do and what she does is our choice."

The last Uchiha then walked away. Asuna sighed, "I swear, that guy is obsessed with Hikari-chan."

Sinon nodded, "Its creepy, I feel bad for her."

Suguha sighed, "I just hope she makes up with Kirito-kun soon. I don't want our family to break apart."

Sinon and Asuna nodded in agreement as they continued training.

Back with Kirito and Hikari, the two were panting heavily. They had sparred for quite an amount of time and they were starting to get tired.

Hikari readied her stance, "Its time to end this, Kirito-kun."

The blacksmith nodded and readied his stance. He materialised his wings and flew upwards, surprising the girl and Anko.

Hikari followed and jumped upwards. Then the next thing happened surprised her. Kirito let go of his swords, letting them fall to the ground as he charged Hikari.

The girl realized her mistake and braced for impact. But instead, she felt Kirito embrace her and held her in the air.

The blacksmith spoke, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hid it from you. I was scared, that I would lose you."

Hikari stayed silent as Kirito hugged her tighter, "Please, don't hate me. I won't try to justify my actions, I'll do anything to make it up to you."

The girl replied, "I felt betrayed, when I found out that you knew, that you hid my parents' identity from me. I was really angry, Kirito-kun."

Hikari paused and spoke, "But, I just can't hate you, Kirito-kun. You did it because you wanted to protect me, I think... I get where you're coming from. You were weak, you were afraid you couldn't protect us."

The girl shuffled and looked at him in the eye, "I'll forgive you. But, you shouldn't keep any more secrets from us, can you promise me?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, I promise."

Hikari smiled, "Then, as punishment, you'll cook ramen for the next coming week, bring me on a date and let me sleep with you tonight."

Kirito nodded, "Okay."

Hikari then asked, "By the way, when did you start to fly?"

Kirito chuckled, "Kayaba-sensei taught me that when we were in the academy. But that's a story for another time."

Hikari giggled and nodded, "Okay. But, it looks really nice. I can see the village from here."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah."

Before they could continue however, they heard Anko yell, "How long are you two planning to stay up there?"

Kirito chuckled, "Let's get down."

Hikari nodded as they descended to the ground. Anko asked as soon as they touched the ground, "So, did you two make up?"

Hikari nodded, "Yeah, thank you, Anko-san."

The woman grinned, "Its fine, I just set up the stage. The rest were the two of you."

Kirito chuckled, "Even so, you did help."

Anko laughed, "Fine. I expect ten plates of dango."

Kirito nodded, "I'll tell Agil to put that on my tab."

Anko blinked, "I was joking, you know?"

Kirito grinned, "But I wasn't, do you want it though?"

Anko quickly replied, "Of course!"

Hikari giggled as Anko sighed in relief. The woman then looked at the girl, "Its good that you forgave him and all, but I don't think you should let Hokage-sama and Kakashi off the hook yet."

Hikari nodded, "I wasn't planning to. At least, Kirito-kun has been here for me for so long. But Hokage-sama and Kakashi-sensei... not so much."

Kirito the said, "I noticed you stopped calling him Hokage-jiisan."

Hikari nodded, "He lied to me. But, let's not talk about them. I want 15 bowls of ramen for dinner tonight."

Kirito nodded, "Okay."

Anko grinned and said, "Well, I'm gonna go on with my own stuff. See you guys later."

The two nodded as the woman walked away. Anko thought, 'The kid is so whipped.'

XXX

Done. So yeah. Review please. The next chapter will be the girls signing the summoning contracts and stuff. Hikari will also look further into her scrolls, I'll give you guys a hint, there will be two Uzumaki in this story, one OP as fuck old man and one younger girl with glasses.

So, I will also be using references to the LNs, so if you have not read the novels, well, you have been warned. Also, I read the chinese versions, so I'll be using what I know and so on. Until the next chapter, which hopefully will be in a week.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey guys. **Guest-questioner** , I see where you're coming from. But actually, what I'm doing will be mixing SAO's plot and 'Naruto's plot. Yes, this is the Naruto world, but I'll include quite some elements of SAO... so I'll prob not remove her from Kirito's harem.

Besides, I wanted to try writing a fic where the male protagonist is not a 'Naruto'... if you get what I mean.

To the **Guest** , if you know about the Alicization arc, you'd know what I'm referring to.

Thank you **zero fullbuster** , glad you like it.

So, here's the chapter.

XXX

Later that night, Kirito, as promised, cooked ramen for dinner. And to the surprise of Asuna, Sinon and Suguha, he cooked 15 bowls for Hikari.

Suguha sighed, "Hikari-chan, you made him cook this much, didn't you?"

The blonde beamed, "Of course, you've all banned me from eating so much at home. Apart from Ichiraku's, Kirito-kun's ramen is the best."

Kirito sighed, "So I'm still not as good as Teuchi-ojisan."

Hikari giggled, "You're on his level, but I know you can do better."

Asuna sighed, "Well, I guess its fine, since Kirito-kun did hide secrets from us."

Suguha nodded before she pouted at Hikari, "But to think you and Kirito-kun will have a date, it feels kinda unfair."

Sinon nodded, "But come to think of it, Kirito-kun has never taken us on a date before, right?"

The four girls looked at the boy who was eating his kimchi ramen. Kirito chuckled nervously under their gazes, "I'm sorry, but I don't have as much free time as you do."

Asuna stared at him, "But you can find some time for us, right?'

Suguha nodded in agreement, "Yeah."

Kirito sighed and nodded in a defeated manner, "Okay, I'll take all of you on a date, separately."

The girls smiled as they continued with their food, with Hikari stacking up the bowls faster than anyone.

Later, they quickly got changed as they went to their rooms, with Hikari in Kirito's room. Kirito wore a simply grey shirt and shorts while Hikari wore a light pink shirt and grey shorts.

As Kirito got on the bed, the girl stood by the bed blushing slightly. The blacksmith asked, "What's wrong, Hikari-chan?"

The girl looked away, her blush increasing, "Umm..."

The teen sighed, "You wanted this, didn't you? Come on."

Hikari nodded and shyly got onto the bed, lying beside Kirito. The girl then shuffled and laid her head on Kirito's shoulders.

The girl asked, "Kirito-kun, do you think there really are other Uzumaki out there?"

Kirito blinked, "What brought this up?"

Hikari turned and looked at him, "I mean, Ashina-ojisan did say there are others out there, but do you think we can find them?"

Kirito flicked her forehead, "Idiot, of course we will. Even if we can't find them, once you become Hokage, they will definitely hear of you, then they will come for you."

Hikari smiled slightly, "I guess you're right. Thank you, Kirito-kun."

The blacksmith grinned, "Anytime. I'll always be here for you."

Hikari nodded, "Goodnight."

Kirito nodded as they fell asleep, with Hikari in Kirito's protective embrace.

The next day, the five of them were sitting on the sofa. The clan scroll was rolled out on the coffee table. Hikari looked at the scroll and saw that a lot of them had their status being 'Deceased'.

The girl said sadly, "So many of us, yet they're all dead."

Then they noticed two names apart from Hikari that did not have the status of being deceased. Asuna said, "Uzumaki Karin and Uzumaki Nagato?"

Suguha nodded, "They're alive. But, we don't know where are they."

Hikari nodded before she said, "Well, let's put this for another time. I have all of you, that's enough. So, let's go sign those contracts."

Kirito nodded, "I'm closing the shop for today anyways, so I'll follow you. We should also tell Kakashi to come, since he has experience with summons."

The girls nodded as they took the scrolls and went to look for Kakashi. As they walked, they noticed the man giggling while reading a suspiciously orange book.

Kirito and the girls deadpanned at the man. Asuna sighed, "Well, I guess we can't expect too much from Kakashi-sensei..."

Sinon nodded, "Are we still gonna ask him to come with us?"

Suguha nodded, "He feels like those perverted creepy old men..."

Kirito sighed, "Yeah..."

The girls sighed as Hikari called out, "Kakashi-sensei."

The cyclops noticed his student and eye-smiled, "Ah, good to see you all here."

Kirito stared at the book in Kakashi's hand, "You never change, do you?"

The man chuckled, "Hey, Icha-icha is good."

Suguha sighed, "And people wonder why you are always single..."

Kakashi ignored the girl and asked, "So, what are you all doing?"

Hikari spoke neutrally, "We were actually looking for you, we're gonna sign the contracts, Kirito-kun said you knew about them."

Kakashi nodded, "I see, sure, I'll tag along, I'm curious what kind of summons they are, apart from the general description the scrolls had of course."

Kirito nodded, "Good, let's go."

They then moved towards one of the larger training grounds nearby. As they took out the scrolls, Kakashi asked, "So, are you familiar with the signing procedures?"

Sinon blinked, "Signing procedures?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, to be able to summon a, well, a summon, you need a contract with them, hence the name summoning contracts."

The girls nodded as Kakashi spoke, "To sign one, you need to write your name on the scroll with your blood, of course also channel your chakra through it to make it binding. Then place a print of your five fingers with blood."

The girls nodded as they started to unroll the scrolls. Hikari commented as she saw the faded names there, "So many Uzumaki..."

Asuna, Sinon and Suguha nodded. Then, they bit their thumbs and started to write their names with their right hands before they pressed their bloodied fingers onto the scroll. Their names and the finger prints glowed, signifying that they had binded the contract.

Kakashi spoke, "To summon, smear your palm with blood before doing the seals. The seals are boar, bird, dog, monkey and ram. Then slam your palm on the ground."

The girls nodded and started to go through the handseals before the slammed their hands on the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Kakashi and Kirito's eyes widened and both yelled, "Wait, don't!"

They were too late as huge clouds of smoke covered the area. Soon, the smoke cleared to reveal four creatures, one was the size of a building while the others were the size of a horse.

The building sized creature was a grey western dragon, with dark wings and white eyes. The next one was a white cat. The third creature was an eagle. The final one was a killer whale that floated in the air.

The whale spoke, "Who summoned me?"

Asuna looked nervous and said, "Umm, me."

The whale seemed to look at the girl before it said, "I see, you're... not an Uzumaki, are you?"

The cat huffed, "Of course not, she doesn't even have their chakra."

The eagle nodded, "But, I don't see any of the Uzumaki here."

The dragon grunted, "The blonde girl, you're an Uzumaki, are you not?"

Hikari nodded. The dragon gave a small, barely noticeable smile, "You are the one to have summoned me, yes?"

Hikari nodded as the dragon continued, "To have summoned me, Sigmund, on your first try, you must have a large amount of chakra."

The dragon stared at her, "What is your name, girl?"

Hikari answered, a bit nervous, "Hikari... Uzumaki Hikari."

Sigmund nodded, "Good. You... didn't sign the other three contracts, did you?"

Hikari shook her head, "Umm, no. Asuna-chan, Sinon-chan and Suguha-chan signed them."

Sigmund nodded while the three other summons groaned slightly. The dragon spoke, "While its not forbidden, for others not of the clan to sign the Uzumaki summons' contracts, we summons prefer for only the Uzumaki clan to sign them. But, the leaders shouldn't have any problems with them if you tell them."

Hikari nodded. The whale spoke as it looked at Asuna, "My name is Trident. You're lucky to have summoned me. I am one of the whales who have learned to fight above water, and by extension, live above water. If you had summoned any other of us, they would have died."

Trident stared at Asuna, "Tell me your name."

The auburn haired girl replied, "Asuna, Yuki Asuna."

Trident nodded, "Very well, Asuna. I will tell our leader, that we have a new summoner. I look forward to working with you."

Asuna smiled, "Thank you."

The whale nodded as the eagle spoke and looked at Suguha, "You were the one who summoned me, right?"

Suguha nodded as the eagle asked, "I am Reaper, since Hikari has allowed you to sign the scroll, we will accept you as our summoner, please, tell me your name."

The girl nodded, "Kirigaya Suguha."

Reaper nodded, "I shall see you soon. Our leader will probably want to meet you."

Suguha nodded. The cat then looked at Sinon, "I guess you're the one who summoned me then."

Sinon nodded. The white cat spoke, "My name, is Shirone. As Reaper-san said, since Hikari has acknowledged you, we of the Cat Tribe will accept you as our summoner, ummm... what's your name?"

Sinon grinned, "Asada Sinon."

Shirone nodded, "Okay, Sinon-san. Our leader will probably want to meet you, so yeah, I'll tell you when the time comes."

Sinon nodded before Sigmund spoke, "We will take our leave. We look forward to working with you."

The girls nodded before Sigmund looked at Kirito, "You, I sense the power of the Underworld in you."

Kirito blinked, "The Underworld?"

Sigmund nodded, "It seems... you have no idea of your heritage. It is not my place, but soon, you will find out, and you will have to make a choice."

Kirito blinked, "A choice?"

The dragon nodded, "But don't worry about it now, enjoy your life. Everything will come to pass naturally."

The dragon finished, "I've said enough. I'll see you all again."

The four summons then poofed out of existence to their realms. They stood there in silence before Kakashi said, "Well, that went well. You all passed easily, normally the summons would give you a test of sorts."

Hikari blinked, "Really?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah, my dog summons had chased me all around the village for a whole day. If I could stay hidden from them for the day, I could be their summoner."

The five of them blinked, "What?"

Kakashi chuckled, "Good memories. So, what do you want to do now?"

Hikari then remembered, "Kakashi-sensei, can we talk in private?"

The cyclops blinked and nodded, "Sure..."

The blonde nodded and dragged the man away into the trees. As they walked off, Suguha joked, "Hey, you don't think she'll confess to him, right?"

Asuna and Sinon laughed while Kirito paled at that thought. The girls laughed harder when they saw the blacksmith's face.

Asuna giggled, "Kirito-kun, that's ridiculous. Hikari-chan wouldn't do something like that."

Sinon nodded, "Yeah, besides, who would want someone like him?"

A few thousand miles away, in a casino, a woman with short black hair and a dark blue kimono sneezed. The pig in her arms oinked as the woman smiled, "Its okay, I'm fine."

The woman thought, 'Someone must be talking about me.'

Back at Konohagakure, Kirito nodded, "I guess that's true. Its not a secret Kakashi-san loves Icha-icha."

Asuna nodded before she asked, "By the way, I'm curious. A lot of men like to read that particular series, I haven't seen you reading them?"

Kirito chuckled, "Ah, because I am above reading shit like those. Besides, its a waste of money. I mean, its basically porn, I wouldn't waste money on useless stuff like that."

The girls nodded as they stared at him skeptically. Suguha looked at Sinon, "I think we should search his room."

The archer nodded. Kirito blinked before he cried, "Why won't you believe me?! I don't read Icha-icha!"

The girls just giggled at how he was overreacting. Meanwhile, outside a hotsprings in a random village, a white haired man with a helmet that had the word '油', the kanji for 'oil' on it spoke, "I sense it, someone lacks enlightenment."

Meanwhile, Hikari and Kakashi were standing in the forest. The cyclops asked, "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Hikari looked at him in the eye seriously, "Kakashi-sensei, you knew who my father was, didn't you?"

The man was taken aback by the question before he asked, "Did you find out?"

Hikari nodded before she turned to look at the Hokage Monument. Kakashi sighed, "To answer your question, yes, I did."

Hikari stared at the man, "Where were you? You knew I was your sensei's daughter, didn't you care?"

Kakashi sighed, "Come with me."

Hikari blinked before Kakashi grabbed her shoulders and they vanished via Shunshin to arrive at the Memorial Stone.

Hikari asked, "What is this?"

Kakashi spoke, "I won't give any excuses. I was afraid. I was weak. My generation of team 7, they were family to me. After my father died, they were all I had left. Uchiha Obito, Nohara Rin, and Minato-sensei. Kushina-senpai was like a big sister to me, I cared for all of them."

Hikari stayed silent as Kakashi continued, "I vowed to protect them, but in the end, all of them died in front of me. Obito died in a mission when he pushed me away from a boulder. Rin... I killed her in a mission. Minato-sensei and Kushina-senpai both died when they sealed the Kyuubi into you."

Kakashi let out a breath, "You were... a lot like them... too much in fact. I... I couldn't look at you without seeing them in you."

It was then Hikari realized how much her teacher had lost. The girl asked, "How?"

The man smiled, "Like Rin, you are kind. Like Obito, you never give up and you want to be Hokage. Like Minato-sensei, you are smart and you care for Kirito. Like Kushina-senpai, you have that brash attitude and you get angry when someone threatens your family."

Kakashi sighed, "But, that still doesn't excuse me from not being there for you. I did join the Anbu to help you, I knew it wasn't enough, but I didn't do more."

Hikari nodded, "Anbu... wait, you're Inu-niisan?"

The girl had vague memories of an Anbu with a dog shaped mask playing with her before she met Kirito, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha. But after she met them, the girl rarely saw the Anbu.

Kakashi blinked in surprise and nodded, "Yes, I was Inu. I tried to guard you whenever I could, but I had missions as an Anbu."

Hikari smiled at the man, "I know. At least, I met Kirito-kun. I met Asuna-chan, Sinon-chan and Suguha-chan."

The girl then stared at him seriously, "I won't say I forgive you, but... I will give you a chance."

Kakashi nodded, "Thank you."

Hikari nodded before she asked, taking out a rubber ball, "By the way, I can't seem to make the ball burst you did."

Kakashi blinked, "Hmm, show me how you do it."

The girl nodded and channeled chakra into the ball. It started to rumble before a hole burst open and the air flowed out like a punctured tyre.

Kakashi nodded, "I see what's wrong. You're not containing the power. Look at this."

The man made a Rasengan as it swirled to life in his palm, "The Rasengan has three components, rotation, power and compression. The second step is power with a bit of compression. What you did, was pushing the power outwards, not containing it to unleash the power like a bomb."

Hikari nodded, "I see. I'll have to try again."

Kakashi nodded, "While you're at it, try the third step. Get a water balloon, do the same thing as the second step but without popping the balloon. Do it for a minute, then try that without the balloon."

Hikari nodded as they walked back to the field. As they left, Kirito thought, 'I wonder what Sigmund meant by the Underworld... I think I'll have to look into it some time.'

The next day, it was almost time for his lunch break. Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha had said they would meet him at his shop and the blacksmith was preparing to close the shop when three people entered his shop.

Kirito greeted, "Hello, Tenten-san. Who are your two friends?"

Tenten nodded, "Kirito. These are my teammates, Hyuga Neji and Rock Lee."

The Hyuga nodded in acknowledgement while Lee greeted, "Yo!"

Kirito asked, "So, what brings you three to my humble shop? Tenten-san's family runs a smithy, so I doubt you're here for supplies."

Lee grinned, "Actually, I asked to meet you. I heard there was someone who couldn't use chakra, like me. I wanted to meet you."

Kirito chuckled, "I see. Then, what did you want?"

Neji huffed, "He wanted to spar with you. Something about seeing what kind of person you were. I mean, we all heard you fought Zabuza of the Mist."

The taijutsu specialist nodded, "Exactly, I want to see how bright your FLAMES OF YOUTH burn!"

Kirito winced, "Another Gai-san..."

Tenten sighed, "Think how we have to deal with him and Gai-sensei at the same time."

Kirito nodded in sympathy before he spoke, "Sorry, Lee-san, but I can't today, I already have plans. Maybe another time."

Lee nodded, "Its okay! We shall compare our FLAMES OF YOUTH another time!"

The three then left, with Tenten waving at him while Neji giving him a nod of acknowledgement.

Kirito chuckled as he flipped the sign to closed, "A mini-Gai, my so called rival and a stoic Hyuga, then again there are some strange bunches in those Gennin teams."

A while later, Sinon, Hikari, Suguha and Asuna met up with Kirito. The katana user asked, "So, Kirito-kun, where are we going?"

The boy grinned, "Next door."

The girls blinked in confusion as the blacksmith led them into a suspiciously dark themed café. They entered to see that the shop was half full with people.

Kirito said, "This is the Dicey Café, I told you girls about it, remember?"

The girls nodded as they remembered the boy mentioning it. The blacksmith grinned, "Come on, let's get a seat."

They went to a table and sat down as Agil walked over. The man grinned, "So, Kirito, these are the girls you talked about?"

Kirito grinned and fist-bumped with the man, "Yeah."

The young man looked at the four girls, "This is Andrew Gilbert Mills, he's this shop's owner."

The man chuckled, "Just call me Agil. Kirito has told me a lot about the four of you."

Hikari and the girls stared at their boyfriend, the blonde commenting, "So he did..."

Kirito just chuckled and Agil asked, "So, what do you want? Since its lunch time, we have the daily lunch sets."

The man looked at Kirito and said, "And since this little bastard finally brought you four here, I'll make them on the house, order whatever you want."

The blacksmith sighed, "You're awfully cheerful today."

A voice cut in, "Of course he is, Agil just hit his monthly target and earned quite a lot of money."

They turned to see Klein standing there. Kirito looked at Agil, "Is he still jobless?"

The bald man shook his head, "No, I heard he found a job as an accountant somewhere."

Klein frowned, "Oi, that's not a way to talk about me."

The man then saw the four girls sitting with Kirito and bowed, "I'm Ryotaro Klein, 25 years old, single and ready to m-ugh!"

The man clutched his stomch in pain as Kirito burried his fist in his guy. The blacksmith said, with a vein bulging out of his forehead, "Klein, if you dare touch any of them..."

The man groaned as he fell to the floor, "Sorry, Kiri-no-ji. I won't do that again."

The girls just sweatdropped at the blacksmith's protectiveness of them, though they found it endearing.

Agil chuckled, "Well, just ignore Klein, he's just a creepy bastard that can't seem to find a job and a girl."

The girls just nodded as they gave Agil their orders. Kirito also ordered his food, "Just put it on my tab."

Agil chuckled, "That's a no. I said it'd be on the house, didn't I?"

Kirito blinked and nodded, "Thanks man."

The foreigner nodded, "Sure."

The owner of the shop then went to the kitchen to start working. Asuna spoke, "Well, it's nice here."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, Agil has a few waiters here and there, but he prefers to cook the food himself and brew the drinks. You can say this would be a restaurant in the afternoon but a cafe otherwise."

Klein nodded as he stood up, "Yeah, the guy is awesome like that."

The girls just nodded as they sat there, enjoying the atmosphere. A while later, their food was ready and Agil had brought them to the table. The man spoke, "I'm probably not as good as Kirito when it comes to cooking, but I like to think I can do quite good. Enjoy your meal."

The four of them thanked him as Agil nodded before sending a grin to Kirito who just sighed and ate the food. Sinon commented, "This is actually quite nice."

Hikari nodded as she bit down on the meat, "Its surprisingly tender."

Kirito chuckled as he ate the food, "Hmm, Agil might seem fine, but he's actually a man who deals a lot of dark stuff."

The man yelled from the counter, "I can hear you, ya know? Besides, you're the one who asked me to do those things!"

The girls giggled, Sinon spoke, "So, you deal with a lot dark stuff huh..."

Kirito slumped his head down, "Never mind..."

He thought, 'At least Argo isn't here.'

As if on cue, the door opened to reveal a short light brown haired girl wearing a brown coat. The girl grinned, "Yo, Ki-bo."

The blacksmith facepalmed, "I haaad to jinx it."

The girls looked curiously as the short girl approached them. Kirito sighed, "Hey, Argo."

The girl grinned, "So these are the girls... not bad, for someone like you."

The blacksmith sighed, "I already have Klein with that, please don't."

The girl grinned, "What? Afraid I'll tell em bout your... dark stuff?"

The girls stared at him as he sighed and facepalmed, "Argo..."

The girl's grin widened, "And since its your first time, I'll charge you half price."

The girls blinked and Kirito explained, "Argo is an informant. With the right price, she can get you any piece of information you want, with the 'right price' usually being a fortune."

Argo chuckled, "Ah, you give me too much credit. I don't just get any information, I get whatever that seems beneficial to me."

Suguha grinned mischievously and looked at the three other girsl, all of them sharing the same grin, "Then, can you give us any intel on Kirito-kun's... dark secrets?"

Argo grinned darkly as Kirito groaned. The informant then shook her head, "Sorry, but I don't think I have anything yet... yet."

The girls just giggled as the blacksmith sighed before they continued their meal.

A while later, Kirito stood in front of Hiruzen in the personal training field of the Hokage. Kirito asked, "Do I really need to do this?"

The old Sarutobi nodded, clad in his old armor, "Yes, I need to confirm something."

The blacksmith sighed and drew his swords, staring at the Hokage.

A few hours before, after Kirito and the girls finished their lunch, they had gone for a stroll around the village. As they walked, an Anbu appeared before them.

The Anbu spoke, "Kirito, right?"

The young man nodded as the Anbu continued, "I need you to come with me."

Kirito blinked as the Anbu gripped his shoulders saying, "Sorry, I will need to borrow him for a while."

Then they vanished via Shunshin, leaving four very confused girls as they continued their stroll.

With Kirito and the Anbu, they arrived to see a small field, with the Hokage standing on it. Kirito blinked, "Hokage-sama, what are you wearing?"

Hiruzen chuckled, "This was my old shinobi armor. Its been a while since I fought after all."

Kirito nodded and asked, "So, why are you wearing it?"

The old Sarutobi stared at the young blacksmith before he suddenly spat out a horse sized fireball at the young man. Kirito's eyes widened before he took on a slight red aura and vanished, dodging the fireball.

Kirito appeared a few meters from where the fireball was and yelled, "Oi what was that?!"

The Hokage chuckled as he slid into a stance, "Come on, Kirito, I think its time we had a spar."

The teen sighed, "Do we really need to do this?"

Hiruzen nodded, "I wanna confirm something."

The blacksmith nodded and drew his swords, facing the old Hokage.

As soon as he slid into his stance, Hiruzen shot forward. The Hokage threw a fist at him, which Kirito blocked by crossing his swords. Kirito was surprised by the strength behind the punch before he remembered that this was the Hokage.

Kirito let out a breath as he leaped away from the old man. Then, his eyes turned serious as he activated his Acceleration, taking on a red hue.

Hiruzen grinned when the swordsman vanished, to the normal naked eye of course, and closed the distance between them easily as Kirito spun, swinging both swords down. (Levi style)

The old man raised his armored arms to block to strike, he wasn't surprised when the swords clashed against his armor, no, he was surprised when the force behind the slash sent him flying straight into a tree.

Hiruzen got up from the tree and nodded, "Impressive strength, show me more."

Kirito retook his stance. Then they both vanished. To normal people, they would have saw a black and red blur clashing against each other several times, but to ninja or anyone with trained eyes, they'd see Hiruzen wielding a kunai clashing against Kirito's swords.

Kirito landed a distance away from Hiruzen and started chanting, "Search! Destroy! Burn them away, Ignest!"

The blacksmith held his swords in front of him as a small magic circle appeared in front of his arms. Embers formed and shot at Hiruzen.

The Hokage dodged them easily before his eyes widened as the flame bullets actually turned and shot after him. He dodged them a few times before he flashed through handsigns, "Suiton: Teppodama!"

The old man spat out a large water ball that would engulf the bullets. But Hiruzen was surprised once again as the bullets curved around the ball of water and exploded against the Sarutobi's armor.

Hiruzen charged out of the smoke at Kirito, but the swordsman was ready. His swords glowed as he yelled, "Gale Slicer!"

The swordsman charged forward and sent a cross slash at the old man. Hiruzen's eyes widened as he quickly substituted with a log which was sliced in half.

A while later, Kirito laid on the grass panting, with Hiruzen grinning as he stood above the blacksmith. The Hokage nodded, "Definitely mid to high Jounin level. You still have a long way before you can defeat me."

Kirito panted, "Hey, you're the one who wanted me to spar with you!"

Hiruzen chuckled, "Indeed, it also proved that you can handle the next mission I'll be giving you."

The young man nodded, "So what is it?"

The old Hokage spoke, "I want you to proctor the upcoming Chunnin Exams."

XXX

Done. So yeah. And before any of you ask, Kirito's relationship with Hiruzen still hasn't been fixed yet, so to speak. They still have that wedge between them. Review please. So the next chapter will the start of the Chunnin exam arc. If you guys have any idea on what kind of mission you'd like to see, tell me.

So yeah, until next chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey guys. Yeah, Kirito being proctor will definitely be biased in a sense. But not too much.

 **Guest-questioner** , well, Kirito's not gonna get every girl... I plan to just lock the girls like it is now. I see what you mean with the 'Kirito getting the girl in the end' thing and the same old themed thing, I was acty just planning on bringing that over with a few changes. Too clichéd, but I guess I find it fun to write that. Sorry if that disappointed you.

XXX

Kirito blinked, "Proctor? For the Chunnin Exams?"

Hiruzen nodded, "Yes. I've received intel that a new village that recently appeared, Otogakure, is mobilizing their forces. With the Chunnin Exams coming up, especially in our village, we will need everyone to be on standby."

Kirito blinked confusedly, "But what does this have to do with me being a proctor?"

Hiruzen nodded, "There will be gennin from every village here. Some of them may be spies and so on. I need you to study them, see what they do."

The blacksmith nodded, "The price?"

Hiruzen sighed, "I'll pay you B-rank."

Kirito shook his head, "Make that S-rank. Hikari-chan is still mad at you. Plus, you're asking me to close my shop to do it."

The Hokage sighed. It would seem Hikari, and by extension, Kirito was still slightly pissed at him. The old man couldn't blame him or the girl. He had hid Hikari's parents identity from them, and Kirito cared for Hikari, Suguha, Asuna and Sinon a lot.

The swordsman had made it clear that he would do anything to keep them safe and happy, even if it meant killing him or destroy the world.

Normally, if it were anyone else, Hiruzen wouldn't have hesitated to kill them, or at the very least place them under surveillance. But he knew where Kirito was coming from, and as long as no one in the village threatened the four girls, and as long as the four girls were loyal to the village, Kirito would be loyal to the village as well.

Hiruzen nodded, "Consider it done, you will proctor the exams then?"

The blacksmith nodded, "Yeah. Just tell me the date, venue and what to do."

Hiruzen nodded, "Thank you. But please, don't tell the girls you'll be proctoring them. I'm not sure if Kakashi and Yugao will let them enter yet."

Kirito nodded and turned to leave before he spoke, "Hey, do you know anything about the Underworld?"

Hiruzen froze for a brief moment, "No, I've never heard of anything like that. Where did you hear it?"

Kirito was about to answer before he spoke, "Its nothing, just a passing thought."

The blacksmith then left the field, leaving a slightly worried old man. Hiruzen thought worriedly, 'Did Kayaba tell him? I don't think so, he did say he'd tell him once his plans were finished. Then who?'

As Kirito walked, he thought as he looked at his swords, 'I think I'll have to tune these a bit. I also need to add seals to them.'

Meanwhile, at the apartment, Suguha slumped on the sofa, "Mou... where's Kirito-kun?"

Asuna sighed, "Maybe Hokage-sama needed him for something?"

Sinon nodded as Hikari sighed, "Hokage-sama... huh?"

Sinon asked, "So, what are you gonna do about him?"

Hikari shrugged, "Who knows? That old man hid a lot from me. He didn't tell me my status as a Jinchurikii, and he didn't tell me I was practically and literally a princess."

Asuna nodded, "True. If you look at it, Hikari-chan is the daughter of the Yondaime Hokage, making her a princess of the village of sorts. Hikari-chan is also the descendant of the leaders of Uzu no Kuni. She's basically inherited an island."

The two other girls nodded while Hikari pouted, "You know, you make it sound like I'm high and mighty and stuff."

The auburn haired girl giggled, "Maybe, but it still doesn't change you from being a ramen-holic."

Hikari beamed and nodded, "Of course! Ramen is the food of the gods!"

Sinon chuckled, "I doubt gods eat ramen much. I think Thor and Odin wouldn't."

Hikari pouted at the brunette, "Maybe not your Norse gods, but I know that there are gods out there who love ramen!"

Suguha giggled, "Well, don't go too overboard with it. I fear that Hikari-chan might actually build altars or shrines for ramen like how Sakura has an altar for Sasuke."

The blonde paled, "Please no. I wouldn't do that. Besides, we honor ramen by savouring in the nectar that is the broth of ramen."

The blonde was about to continue when Asuna lightly hit her head with her palm, "No religious fevers please."

Hikari rubbed her head softly and pouted, "Fine."

A while later, the blacksmith returned. Sinon asked, "What did Hokage-sama want?"

Kirito replied as he set down his swords and took off his coat, "He wanted a spar, he wanted to confirm something."

The girls blinked as Suguha asked, "A spar? You sparred with the Hokage?"

Asuna asked curiously, "How did it go?"

Kirito slumped onto the sofa beside Suguha, "I lost badly. That old man is really strong, but then that's why he's the Hokage."

Hikari nodded, "I see."

Meanwhile, after the spar, Hiruzen was back in his office. The old man looked at the group of Jounin in front of him, "As you all know, the Chunnin Exams are closing in. It will be held in the next two weeks."

The Jounin started to mummer among themselves as Hiruzen cleared his throat, "If you do not wish for your team to enter, you may leave the office."

The group of Jounin started to leave until only Kakashi, Yugao, Gai, Asuma, Kurenai and a random Jounin remained. Hiruzen looked at them, "So, I guess you all want to have your Gennin enter the exam?"

They all nodded as Hiruzen took out a stack of paper. The Hokage distributed them to the Jounin, "Here are the forms then, I trust you know what to do?"

The six Jounin nodded as they took the papers and went off. As they left, Hiruzen looked out at the window, "The Chunnin Exams, Otogakure... Orochimaru, what are you planning?"

The next day, Kakashi and Yugao had called their teams over. The two jounin thought since four of the girls were living together, it would be easier to get them together.

The two jounin looked at their gennin as Kakashi spoke, "Sorry for calling you here, even though you still have the week off."

The girls didn't mind much as Sasuke grunted, "What is it?"

Yugao nodded and started, "The Chunnin Exams are starting, so we've decided that the six of you will be entering them."

Sakura blinked, "Chunnin Exams?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah, the exams, as the name says, lets you get promoted to the rank of a Chuunin. Its in two weeks, so we won't be doing missions even after our week off is over."

Yugao nodded, "That is if you guys want to enter."

Hikari grinned; "I'll definitely enter, I need to pass this exam to be Hokage after all."

Sasuke grunted, "It should also let me see how strong I am now."

Asuna smiled, "Well, if Hikari-chan is going, we can't just not go, right?"

Sinon and Suguha nodded in agreement. Sakura meanwhile didn't say anything and stayed silent. Kakashi noticed this and asked, "How about you, Sakura?"

The pinkette got nervous as everyone looked at her. The girl spoke, "Well, if everyone is going, I guess it wouldn't hurt to go."

Kakashi and Yugao wanted to correct her, but decided not to as they thought in unison, 'Oh it will hurt... a lot.'

The one eyed Jounin nodded, "If that is what you want, then go ahead. Here are the forms. Fill them up, go to the academy on the date and time stated in the forms. Do not be late."

The six Gennin nodded and Yugao spoke, "Truthfully for Gennin out of the academy only for a few months, and not a year, taking the exams is quite early. But since you all did quite well in our previous mission, you should all do well here."

Sasuke then asked, "Is that it?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, you may leave."

The six gennin then left the area as Kakashi and Yugao left the area to do their own stuff.

Meanwhile, Kirito was maintaining his swords' sharpness and durability. He was really surprised that his trusty swords did not break when he fought the Hokage, though they did dull quite a bit.

The blacksmith thought, 'I can't use fuinjutsu, so maybe I could get Hikari-chan to place some seals on them for me.'

The Uzumaki had started reading the first scroll last night, and she was really getting into it, possibly her Uzumaki heritage coming out. Regardless, Kirito thought it'd be a while before she mastered all 10 levels.

Kirito then remembered, 'I still need to do maintenance on Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan's weapons.'

Just then, Kayaba walked in. Kirito noticed his master and greeted, "Kayaba-sensei."

The man smiled, "Hello, Kirito. I see you're doing well."

The younger blacksmith nodded, "Yeah, since we're the only three blacksmiths in the village, its quite good."

The master blacksmith nodded, "Indeed. By the way, I heard you're proctoring the Chunnin Exams."

Kirito blinked, "You know?"

Kayaba chuckled, "Of course I know. You'll probably be working with Ibiki and Anko for the first two parts of the exams. The third parts... I'm not sure, maybe you'll proctor them yourself."

Kirito tilted his head in confusion, "How did you know?"

Kayaba grinned, "Who knows? But hey, you get paid to watch over those Gennin doing exams. If Ibiki is using the same method he did, it'll be fun for you."

Kirito nodded, "Umm, okayyy."

The elder man nodded as he turned to leave, "Well, I just dropped by to see how you were doing. I'll see you some time later."

Kirito nodded as he finished cleaning the Dark Repulsor. Then, he raised both swords and nodded satisfied.

Just then, he noticed Asuna, Hikari, Suguha and Sinon enter his shop. He cleaned up the equipment and walked out, taking off the apron as he did.

Kirito asked, "So, I thought Kakashi-san and Yugao-san wanted you guys to meet up."

Hikari nodded, "We did, we're entering the Chunnin Exams."

Kirito blinked, "Chunnin Exams?"

Asuna nodded, "Yeah, Kakashi-sensei and Yugao-sensei said we were ready to try it."

Kirito nodded, "I see. Well, good luck then. By the way, Asuna-chan, Sinon-chan, Suguha-chan, can you leave your weapons here? I need to do maintenance. Its been a month already."

The girls nodded and took off their weapons, handing it to the blacksmith as he placed them aside for maintenance later.

Hikari then spoke, "By the way, Kirito-kun, we were planning to go do some training, I wanna try out those chakra chains, to see if I have them. Do you wanna come?"

Kirito looked at the clock and saw it was around 5.15pm in the evening. He normally closed the shop at 5.30pm. The blacksmith nodded, "Sure, just let me close the shop first."

The girls waited for the young man as he closed the shop before they headed for the training grounds.

Kirito asked as they entered the fields, "So, what are you doing?"

Hikari took out the scroll and unrolled on the ground, "I read the scroll, it said something about focusing chakra and forming the chains or something like that."

Kirito knelt down and looked at the scroll, "Hmm, it says to focus your chakra and imagine it to take shape. Then expel it from wherever you want."

Hikari nodded and focused, building up chakra in her arms, she imagined them forming the shape of chains, then she released them. The girl opened her eyes to see several chains in her arms, coated with a blue aura.

Sinon said in awe, "Wow, your chakra took shape."

Hikari nodded, "It feels similar to the Chidori. But instead of lightning, I'm holding a more physical object."

Suguha then said, "Try hitting something with it."

Hikari nodded and turned to the training dummies. She pulled her arms back and swung, sending the chains at the dummies. At the same time, Hikari subconsciously put out more chakra, increasing the length as the chains hit the dummies, leaving deep gashes on the straw dummies.

Hikari blinked, "Woah, that's nice..."

Asuna commented, "Hey, try adding chakra to it."

Hikari did and it increased in length. The girl wondered, "I wonder if I can increase its sharpness or add spears to the end."

The girl tried it and as intended, the chains grew spikes and a spearhead at the end. Kirito whistled, "This can really be a good technique."

The blacksmith then got an idea, "Hikari-chan, try using the Chidori while using the chains."

The girl's eyes widened as she caught on and did that. Instantly, lightning crackled around the chains, giving off the same sound as the Chidori.

Hikari grinned, "Holy shit..."

Sinon nodded before she said, "But, I wonder how you can fight with them."

Kirito chuckled, "Why don't we just find out, Hikari-chan?"

The girl nodded as she faced the blacksmith, the young man drawing his swords. Hikari grinned and they both charged, with the three other girls sighing as they watched them spar.

The girl swung her chains at the blacksmith. Kirito easily dodged the swings before he closed the gap between them.

Hikari tch'd as Kirito swung both swords at her. The girl was quick to react as she retracted her chains and held them up, blocking the swords from reaching her.

Kirito grinned, "Not bad."

Hikari smiled, "I'm not done yet!"

Kirito sensed danger and leaped away just to avoid several chains shooting out of the ground.

Kirito sighed in relief, "That was close..."

Hikari retook her stance, "I thought if the chains could come out of any part of my body, maybe I could make them from my legs."

Asuna nodded, "A good way to catch people by surprise."

Suguha and Sinon agreed as Kirito charged again. After a few moments of sparring, Hikari managed to catch Kirito's wrists with her chains.

The blonde smiled, "I gotcha."

Kirito struggled as he pulled against the chains. He thought, 'Hmm, anyone against these chains would have a hard time, especially weapon users.'

He was broken out of his musings as he felt the chains absorbing his chakra. He looked at Hikari, "You can absorb chakra with these?"

The blonde nodded, "I remembered the scroll saying something about it."

Kirito sighed, his reserves were more than enough for himself, with the skills and spells requiring a very low amount of chakra. But with the rate Hikari was absorbing, he'd run out of chakra soon.

Kirito let out a breath and started chanting, "Ek skýt fjórir ískaldur ör! Go, Ice Arrows!"

Four arrows of ice formed around him, surprising the blonde as they shot at her. The girls managed to conjure up a wall of chains as the arrows struck the wall.

Then, she heard Kirito chant again, "Kaze yo, ware no yaiba ni nare! Hikisake, Vartex!"

Immediately, two whirlwinds formed around his arms, cutting off the chains as he rose in the air. He then charged forward and swung his arms and swords at Hikari.

The girl increased the number of chains in the chain wall. The wall held for a moment before it shattered to pieces. Hikari was blown away by the chakra before she quickly made two chains and stabbed them into the ground, stabilizing her.

The girl whipped out a pair of chains and managed to catch Kirito's swords this time. The girl grinned as the blacksmith sighed, "This is really annoying."

Then, a torrent of chains rose from the ground and snaked around him, constricting him as Hikari yanked the blades away from him.

Kirito felt the chains tighten around him as Hikari casually walked to him and flicked him on the nose. The girl grinned, "I win, right?"

Kirito sighed and nodded, "Yeah, you win."

The girl turned and beamed at her sisters-in-all-but-blood as they just smiled at her.

The next day, the girls and Kirito were having a stroll after lunch. As they walked, they saw Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi.

The grandson of the Hokage grinned, "Hey!"

They greeted the young boy before he asked, "Hey, we were about to play a training game, you wanna join?"

They were about to reply when they heard Sakura huff, "Training game? What are you, six?"

They turned to see Sakura and Konohamaru stared at the pinkette, "Who are you to judge, you flat-chested bubble gum old hag?"

Sakura growled, "I'm perfectly fine you dumb brat. I wasn't talking to you anyways."

Konohamaru stared at her, "But I _was._ Besides, fine? You're far from fine. You dress like you have no fashion sense! Look at Hikari-neesan, Asuna-neesan, Sinon-neesan and Suguha-neesan. They are the epitome of what beauties should be!"

Udon nodded, "You don't even come close when compared to our big sisters."

Kirito sighed while the girls giggled at the statement. The blacksmith patted the young teenagers' shoulders, "Bro, I admire your bravery, but sometimes, you should not insult fangirls, even if its true. Now, I think you should run, like the wind."

The girls' laughter increased as Konohamaru and Udon paled upon seeing Sakura's dark scary face. Udon spoke as he backed away, "Kono, run?"

The two boys then ran with Sakura hot on their tails while Hikari, Suguha, Asuna, Sinon and Moegi laughed. Kirito sighed, "Girls, let's go after them."

Hikari giggled, trying hard not to laugh, "Okay... but this is the first time I heard someone talk to Sakura like that."

The others nodded as they followed after them. But before they could catch up to them, they heard Konohamaru yell.

They quickly ran to see a man with make up in a cat-shaped suit gripping Konohamru's shirt, holding him up. Sakura and Udon were standing at a side, not knowing what to do.

Konohamaru yelled, "Hey, let me go!"

The man cracked his neck, "I think not. I need to teach you some manners, don'tcha think?"

Hikari narrowed her eyes and spoke dangerously, "Put him down."

The man grinned when he saw the group of girls, "Ah, ladies, I'll get to you later. I have to educate this little fella a bit."

The blonde behind him sighed, "Kankuro, just stop. He just bumped into you."

Kankuro stared at the blonde, "Nah."

The man raised his fist before he felt someone grab his arm. He turned to see Kirito holding his arm. The black swordsman spoke, "Put him down, now."

Kankuro growled, "Who are you, punk?"

Kirito smirked, "None of you business, clown. But, the boy you're holding is the grandson of the Third Hokage. You're here for the Chunnin exams, aren't you? You hurt him, not only you have to deal with us, but you have to deal with the Hokage."

Kankuro growled, "And if I don't?"

In an instant, he felt a sword at his neck, front and back. The blonde girl was about to move when she felt a sharp point at her back and chains restricting her.

Then they realized, Asuna had her rapier at Kankuro's neck, with Suguha's katana at Kankuro's back of the neck. The blonde girl had Sinon with an arrow aimed at her back and Hikari's chains binding her.

Kankuro wordlessly let go of the boy as he ran to Hikari. The other girls released their weapons while Kirito let go of his arm.

The clown frowned, "Remember this. I will beat you in the exams."

Kirito chuckled, "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not even a ninja. But I think these girls will be more than enough to defeat you."

Kankuro narrowed his eyes before they widened as he saw Kirito catching a stone was aimed for his eyes. Kirito sighed in annoyance and turned, "Hey, come down."

The Uchiha growled as he went to jumped down from the tree. Kirito then grinned, "Not you Sasuke, stay up on the tree like a cat, I meant the other guy."

The Uchiha's eyes widened, along with everyone else's as a red haired teen appeared on the ground.

The redhead spoke, "You're strong. What is your name?"

Kirito chuckled, "Isn't it manners to introduce yourself first?"

The teen nodded, "My name is Gaara. He is Kankuro, my brother. She is my sister, Temari."

Kirito nodded, "Kirito."

Gaara nodded, "I apologise for the trouble he caused. Are you entering the exams?"

The swordsman shook his head, "Sorry, I'm not a ninja."

Gaara nodded before he looked at Hikari. The redhead spoke, "You... you are like me. You carry our burden, number nine. I will kill you, to prove my existence."

Kankuro and Temari's eyes widened as they snapped their heads at the girl. Kirito, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon were also on alert at Gaara's words, but the others were confused.

The two Sand siblings thought, 'How can she be like Gaara? She doesn't even have that bloodlust. She looks like a normal girl.'

Gaara turned, "Kankuro, Temari, we're leaving."

Before they could, Sasuke spoke, "I'm Uchiha Sas-"

Gaara cut him off, "I have no interest in the weak. The four girls and Kirito, they are strong. They will prove my existence."

The three sand siblings then vanished via Shunshin. Sasuke just growled and left the area. Konohamaru and Udon yelled in unison, "That was cool!"

Hikari looked over Konohamaru and Udon, "They didn't hurt you two, right?"

The two boys nodded, "No, thank you, Hikari-neesan."

Hikari nodded as Sinon sighed, "Let's get you all home."

Asuna and Suguha nodded. They quickly sent the three younger teens home before they too headed home.

A few days later, teams 7 and 11 stood in front of the academy. Asuna asked, "You ready girls?"

The auburn haired girl decided to ignore Sasuke and Sakura as she asked the three other girls. Suguha grinned, "Of course, we'll ace these exams."

Hikari and Sinon nodded as they entered the academy, with Sasuke and Sakura following soon behind them.

As they entered the academy, the two teams climbed up the stairs. As they walked, they noticed Tenten pleading two Chunnin, "Please let us in, we need to take the exams."

One of them grunted, "We don't need to do anything. If you want to pass, then try to get pass us."

The bun-haired girl just frowned as she stood there, with many other gennin from all around gathering.

Sasuke huffed and was about to go forward before he felt Hikari's hand on his shoulders. The blonde smiled sweetly, "Sasuke, if you do something stupid, you will lose the very thing that makes you a male."

The Uchiha saw that Asuna, Suguha and Sinon had similar smiles and it felt like he was staring at a pack of lionesses that were ready to tear him apart if he made a mistake.

The last Uchiha wisely shut up and continued walking. Sakura wanted to defend the Uchiha but the gazes from all four kunoichi made her stop.

On the stairs, they were about to enter the third floor when a voice stopped them, "Uchiha Sasuke!"

They turned to see Lee standing there. Team 11 quickly left the area with Hikari as they remembered Kirito saying something about leaving when they saw a bowl-head teen with a green spandex.

Sasuke and Sakura looked confused at why they left before Lee spoke, "Uchiha Sasuke, that's you, right?"

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah. What of it?"

Lee spoke determinedly, "I'd like to fight you."

(I don't think I need to explain the rest. Sasuke fights Lee, Lee wipes the floor with him, Lee prepares to use the Primary Lotus after Sasuke activates the Sharingan. Gai appears and stops Lee by punching him in the face. Then Gai gives Lee a manly hug with the sunset thing and traumatises Sasuke and Sakura.)

A while later, Sasuke and Sakura reached Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon with dead faces. Sinon asked, "What happened?"

Sasuke didn't respond while Sakura muttered with a traumatised expression, "Green... spandex... sunset... gay bowl-heads."

The girls were confused before they heard Kakashi chuckle, "It seems they were traumatised by Gai's hug of youth."

They turned to see Kakashi and Yugao. The cyclops eye-smiled, "Hey. Good to see you all made it."

Yugao sighed and spoke, "Well, we just came to wish you luck one more time. Don't underestimate the exams. But as long as you do your best, you can pass."

The girls nodded while Sasuke and Sakura gave no visible response. Kakashi nodded, "Okay, time for you to go in. Its almost time."

The six of them nodded and they entered the third floor. As soon as they entered, they saw several familiar faces and many strangers.

Kiba grinned, "Hey, you all made it!"

Asuna smiled softly, "Hello, Kiba-san."

The Inuzuka grinned and nodded. As they chatted, with Ino trying to get Sasuke's attention and so on, a white haired man with glasses came over.

The man sighed, "Hey, you guys are rookies, right?"

Kiba stared at him, "What do you want?"

The man sighed, "Look around. This is not a field trip, the exams are serious. Your actions will make you all huge targets."

Sinon narrowed her eyes, "Isn't that beneficial for you?"

The man smiled, "Maybe, but as a fellow Konoha ninja, I believe we can help each other."

The smile was so fake that it immediately set off alarms with Asuna, Sinon, Suguha, Hikari, Shikamaru and Hinata. The four girls then remembered what Kirito told them this morning during breakfast.

(Small flashback)

As they ate, Kirito spoke, "Kayaba-sensei wanted me to tell you this, in the exams, unless they are people you know well, everyone is an enemy. It makes sense, so I want you all to keep an eye out."

(Small flashback end)

The girls realized this man was one of those enemies. The man smiled and took out a deck of cards, "My name is Kabuto, and I'm willing to share some info with you, any people you wanna know?"

This caught Sasuke's attention as he spoke, "I want info on these people, Rock Lee, Gaara, Kankuro, Temari and Kirito."

The four girls glared at the Uchiha when they heard him say Kirito's name. Hikari was about to say something when Kabuto said, "You have names, that's easy. Let's start with Rock Lee. He's the deadlast of the previous year's class. He can't use chakra so he focuses on taijutsu. He has 60 D-ranks, 20 C-ranks and 1 B-rank. Quite impressive."

Kabuto took out another card, "Gaara, Kankuro and Temari. Three siblings, all children of the Kazekage. They all have the same mission count... oh my god, 0 D ranks, 0 C ranks, 50 B ranks. Holy shiet, and Gaara has never walked out with even much of a scratch?"

Kabuto stared at the redhead nervously who paid him no attention, "I'd rather stay away from him."

The man calmed down and took out a final card, "Finally, Kirito. He's not a ninja cuz he can't use chakra. Seriously, why do you want info on him? Anyways, he's a blacksmith and knows a bit on kenjutsu. Nothing note worthy."

Sasuke frowned, "But he defeated Zabuza..."

This caught the attention of several Kiri ninja before Hikari glared at him, "Sasuke!"

The Uchiha blinked at her, "What? Its true anyways, he hides too much."

Kabuto shrugged, "Maybe, I don't look much into civilians. But anyways, there are many villages here, all five major villages and several new and smaller villages like Otogakure. They're new so they could be weak, but keep an eye out."

Three Oto gennin huffed, Dosu spoke, "So we're weak?"

Zaku grinned, "Let's show him, shall we?"

The girl, Kin sighed, "You guys go ahead."

The mummy man nodded and charged the bespectacled man, "I'll show you weak!"

He swung a fist at Kabuto who easily dodged the punch. Then, as he pulled back, Kabuto's eyes widened as his glasses cracked and he started to puke. Kiba yelled in concern, "Kabuto!"

The man raised his palm, "I'm fine. Its nothing."

Dosu hmph'd, "Tryin to act tough, are you?"

The mummy was about to continue when a puff of smoke and a loud voice cut them off, "Enough!"

The girls' eyes widened as the smoke cleared, revealing Kirito. The blacksmith spoke, "This is a written test! No fighting is allowed unless we allow it."

A man with a dark blue bandana smirked and finished, "And we certainly do not allow it!"

The man with the bandana spoke, "My name is Ibiki, and this is Kirito. We will be your proctors for the first part of the test."

Kirito chuckled, "You maybe, I'll be proctoring all three parts."

The blacksmith grinned and stared at the four girls of his life, "Now, lets begin, shall we?"

XXX

Done. Review please. So the next chapter will be the tests. I have a test coming up, so chapters might be a bit slow. But I'll try to write as much as I can anyways. Ciao.


	14. Chapter 14

Yo! This is chapter 14. **Flo463** , you're onto something, but it won't be soon.

Btw, in case you're wondering why Hikari hasn't blown up at the Hokage, it's because she hasn't had a chance to meet him directly, and she already blown off quite some steam previously. So she's giving him the 'silent treatment'... so to speak. But she will confront him soon.

XXX

Everyone quickly took their seats. The whole crowd was starting to have second thoughts on targetting Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and Hikari due to the aura they emitted as they stared at Kirito. The blacksmith smiled forcefully as he thought, 'I'm so dead...'

Ibiki and the other Chunnin along with most of the male Gennin, except Sasuke, around them just gave the young man a look of sympathy.

Ibiki patted Kirito's shoulder as the blacksmith nodded. Kirito cleared his throat and spoke, "Okay, first of all, do not ask any questions. Ask one and you're disqualified. Now, you'll be given ten questions. 9 of them are on the paper you will be given while the final question will be given by Ibiki-san."

Kirito paused and spoke, "If you get caught cheating five times, you will be disqualified, along with all your team members. You have 45 minutes to work on the test before we give you the final questions. Any questions?"

One random gennin from Hoshigakure raised his arm, "Umm, sir..."

Ibiki and Kirito snickered a bit as the man with the bandana spoke out loud, "Number 55, and his teammates. You're disqualified. Get out."

The Chunnin beside them all snickered as one of them repeated, "Number 55, 56 and 57. Disqualified."

Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon just gaped at Kirito for how he just disqualified a team. The others wisely shut up as Kirito asked again, smirking, "So, any questions?"

Ibiki chuckled as everyone stayed silent, "Good, you're learning. As he said earlier, you have 45 minutes, if we catch you cheat 5 times, you're out. Good luck. Your time... starts... now."

Immediately, everyone picked up their pencils and started to write. Kirito chuckled as he saw the increasingly pale face of Kiba.

The blacksmith didn't know the details of the questions, but he did know that in order to pass, they had to cheat. There were several Chunnin placed among them that knew the answers and the Gennin were required to cheat by getting answers from them, without getting caught by him, Ibiki and the Chunnin around them.

Kirito sweatdropped as he saw Sakura speeding through the paper. Knowing her, regardless of her idiocy when it came to social interaction, she could do it easily.

The young man also saw a very small dragon, the size of a lizard and almost unnoticeable, crawling around the floor discretely.

Ibiki chuckled and whispered, "Quite an interesting bunch."

Kirito nodded as he spotted Gaara closing his eyes, sand entering the eyes of the Gennin in front of him as an eye formed under the guy.

He also spotted a small bird landing on the window of the room, no doubt Suguha's summon. Kirito looked and blinked. There were several mirrors attached to the sealing with barely noticeable ninja wires attached to them.

The swordsman whispered to the interrogator, "How the hell did they get mirrors up the ceiling?"

Ibiki chuckled, "At least they're creative."

Kirito nodded as he saw Neji and Hinata using their Byakugan, Sasuke using his Sharingan, Kiba working with Akamaru, Shino using his insects and Ino using her clan jutsu.

After a while, one of the Chunnin whipped out a kunai and threw it at one of the Gennin from Kusagakure.

The teen shouted, "Hey! What's the big deal?"

Ibiki chuckled, "Kid, you got caught cheating five times. You, your teammates are out."

The teen protested, "You don't even have proof!"

Kirito sighed, "There are over a dozen Chunnin around you, if they say you're cheating, then you _are_ cheating."

Ibiki stared at the teen, "Now get your teammates and get out of my sight."

The teen grumbled as the guy's teammates all left the room.

Soon after, more and more teams were kicked out as the test went on. Luckily, none of the Konoha teams were disqualified.

After 45 minutes, Ibiki spoke, "Times up! Pencils down!"

Everyone put down their pencils as Ibiki continued, "I will now give you the final question."

The bandana let out a breath, "But before that, you will have a choice to take the question or not."

A random gennin asked, "Why? Of course we're taking it!"

Ibiki smirked darkly, "If you take the question and you fail, you will not be able to advance from a Gennin ever again, this is something the leaders of the villages agreed to."

Kirito wanted to laugh at the faces of the Gennin as they all shouted, "WHAT?!"

Another Gennin yelled, "But there were others who took the exams before!"

Ibiki grinned, "Well, they didn't have me as an examiner then. So choose, to take the risks, either pass or never be Chunnin, or save yourselves and leave now."

Asuna, Hikari, Sinon and Suguha all looked at Kirito who just stared neutrally at them. Their eyes widened when they saw him smile slightly as he turned to look at the other Gennin.

Soon, over half the Gennin teams were out. Sakura thought as she looked at Sasuke, 'If we fail, Sasuke-kun won't advance, hell, Hikari won't be Hokage. Maybe we shouldn't take the question.'

The pinkette started to raise her hand and Hikari cursed. The blonde quickly raised her arm as Ibiki looked at her, "So, you wanna lea-"

He was cut off by the girl slamming her hands on the table as she stood up. Hikari glared at the two men, sending shivers up their spine as Ibiki suddenly saw Kushina behind her while Kirito just sweated.

The blonde spoke, "I don't care what you say. We are going to take the last question and pass. If we don't do it now, when are we going to? I can't protect my family if I keep backing down."

Her little speech seemed to stop people from leaving as Sakura put her hands down. Sasuke smirked, impressed by her show and just sat there.

After while 5 minutes, Ibiki asked again, "Does anyone want to leave again?"

No one answered as he sighed. Kirito chuckled, "Well, your mind trick failed."

Ibiki sighed, "Yeah, let's get on with it then. Okay, time for the 10th question!"

Everyone leaned forward as the man cleared his throat. Kirito however, was trying his best not to laugh, along with the other Chunnin.

Ibiki spoke, "I will only say this once... you all... pass."

Kirito and the Chunnin all thought, 'Three, two... one... boom'

The whole class erupted, "WHAT?!!!"

Ibiki laughed whole-heartedly, "Yeah, you all pass."

Temari spoke up, "So there isn't a tenth question?"

Kirito grinned, "Not really, you can say the 'Take it or leave it' question was the 10th question, but it all came down to whether you had the guts to take it."

Ibiki nodded, "Yeah, a Chunnin needs to be able to make decisions. If you make the wrong one, you fail, and in real life, in real missions, you die. This test was to test your determination to see if you can be a Chunnin."

Sakura asked, "So the first 9 questions were all for nothing?"

Ibiki chuckled, "Nah, they were to test your information gathering skills. I'm sure you all noticed, some of them finished the tests really quickly, those were Chunnin who knew the answers and were for you to cheat off."

Three of the examinees waved as everyobe groaned. Ibiki let out a breath, "Well, now that the first part is over, follow Kirito here to the next stage. He'll guide you there. Probably."

Kirito grinned, "Well, I think we should also test your skills in tracking down a target, don't we?"

Everyone groaned as Kirito spoke, "I'll see you at Training Grounds 44."

With that, Kirito activated his Acceleration and vanished. Ibiki laughed at the faces of the examinees, "Well, what you waiting for? You're gonna lose him."

Everyone quickly left the room as they went after the red and black blurr who was actually just walking with his Acceleration activated.

As they chased after the blacksmith, everyone made sure to stay clear of Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon. All of them having sweet, sickly and dangerous smiles that promised pain for anyone who crossed them.

As Kirito walked backwards, with time around him slowed down, he spotted the girls' smiles and thought, 'Its official. I'm dead.'

Kirito then turned as casually he continued walking towards the gates of the Shi no Mori with the group of Gennin/soon to be Chunnin behind him.

Soon, they arrived at the gates. Waiting for them was Anko. The dango lover frowned, "So many passed? Did you let them or Ibiki did?"

Kirito chuckled, "Ibiki did. Besides, Hikari-chan was there and boosted everyone's confidence."

Anko nodded, "I see."

The examinees all arrived panting and glared at the young man. Kirito grinned, "So, welcome to the second part of the t-"

Anko pushed Kirito away and spoke, "Welcome to the Shi no Mori. This is where death will come and where you will take part in the second part of the exams."

As if on cue, thunder struck inside the forest. The participants just stared at the forest as they heard several roars and creeks. Kirito sighed as he stood up and stood beside Anko.

Anko's grinned widened before she heard Kiba say, "Shi no Mori? I bet its just a name to scare us."

The woman grinned and threw a kunai that grazed the Inuzuka's cheeks as she Shunshin'd to behind him. The woman spoke into his ear, "Are you sure?"

Kiba turned to see the woman smiling scarily at him and jumped away in fear. Anko laughed, "Its guys like you who get killed first, I'll enjoy hearing your screams."

The woman walked back to the front as Kirito sighed, "Anyways, for the second part of the test, you'll be given a scroll per team. There will be two kinds of scrolls, the Ten and the Tsuchi scrolls."

Kirito held up two scrolls, one with the kanji 天, for sky, and another with the kanji 地, for earth. The blacksmith continued, "Your mission will be to find the second scroll. Every team will be given one of these two, so you must take another team's scroll to pass. After that, head for the tower in the center of the forest."

Anko smirked, "Which means you will be cut in half, literally. Now get your asses here to sign this consent form so we won't be responsible for your deaths and get the scrolls."

The gennin all reluctantly moved to get the scrolls and sign the form before they went to their respective gates. As everyone moved around, Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha approached Kirito.

Sinon spoke, "Kirito-kun, I believe you're going to have to explain several things?"

Asuna, Suguha and Hikari nodded as they stared at him. Kirito chuckled nervously, "Well, I think later?"

Anko grinned and decided to help the teen, "You should get to your gates, get on his ass later in private."

The girls blushed slightly as they begrudgingly nodded and went off to their gates, with Sasuke and Sakura going with Hikari.

Kirito sighed, "Maybe I should have told them..."

Anko laughed slightly, "Eh, secrecy and fairness and all those shit. By the way, I expect 10 plates of dango and a free set of equipment for that."

Kirito sighed, "The dango, fine. But the equipment, we'll see."

The blacksmith then walked to the mike, "All participants, ARE YOU READY?!"

Kirito grinned, "We will open the gates, so get to your gates now. The gates will open in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Now!"

The young man slammed his hand on the red button near him and opened the gates as he could hear everyone rush in. He turned to see Anko clapping lightly.

The woman smiled, "Not bad, come on, let's go get that dango, we can come back later."

Kirito sighed, he wanted to just go in and patrol the forest, to check on his girls. However, he knew he couldn't be biased, plus the girls would kill him if he helped them pass. So he just nodded and followed Anko to get her dango.

Meanwhile, with team 7. The three of them had ran quite a distance from the gates. Hikari looked at Sasuke and Sakura, "Okay, we've come far enough. Now we just need to find Asuna-chan and the others."

Sakura asked, "Why must we work with them? I mean, we don't know which scroll they have. They could have the scroll we need."

Sasuke nodded, "True, its better we find one ourselves. They could drag us down."

Hikari smiled dangerously, "Sasuke, Sakura, you do know that working with them lowers the chances of us being targetted, right?"

The two nodded as they suddenly saw a silhouette of her with her hair in the hair waving dangerously like nine tails.

Hikari nodded as her KI vanished, "Come on, let's go find team 11."

The two members of team 7 nodded fearfully as they quickly followed after the blonde girl. Then, as they walked, Hikari spoke, "Stop."

The two stopped as Sakura asked, "What's wrong?"

Sasuke however, knew why, "Sakura, quiet. We have enemies."

Hikari nodded as a dozen Kiri ninja with masks appeared around them. Hikari grinned, "Clones?"

One of the Kiri ninja replied, "Who knows? Clones or not, we have you outnumbered by a large margin, so if you don't want to die, hand over your scrolls."

They blasted team 7 with killing intent. Sakura felt uneasy while Sasuke just felt a bit disturbed. Hikari however was not affected in the slightest.

Hikari grinned, "Clones? Don't think you're the only ones who can use them. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

In an instant, a few dozen clones appeared, some sitting beside the Kiri ninja's clones smiling. Hikari's grin widened as she snapped her fingers. Then clones sprang into action.

After a small beating, Hikari's clones tied up three Kiri ninja with the same clothing and masks. One of the clones spoke, "Boss, they're real. We got this scroll from them."

The clone gave her a Ten scroll. Hikari sighed, "The same one. Fine, we'll just keep it in case we need a spare."

The clones nodded as they dispelled. Hikari then turned to see a flabbergasted Sasuke and Sakura. Hikari blinked, "What's wrong?"

Sakura said, "You beat them so easily..."

Sasuke nodded. The Uchiha was impressed, it showed she really was strong and worthy to be his wife.

Hikari sighed, "The mission to Wave was much more than this. But then, you two didn't really fight the harder opponents. Well, we still need to find the other scroll, let's go."

The two just nodded as they quickly went after the twin-tailed girl.

Meanwhile, with team 11. Asuna, Sinon and Suguha were moving through the trees before they spotted a team of Suna ninja, not Gaara's team.

Since they were on the trees, Sinon drew her bow and nocked an arrow, packed with sleeping gas, "I feel bad for doing this, but they're just standing out in the open like that."

Asuna and Suguha giggled. The katana user said, "I guess they really are rookies."

Asuna nodded as Sinon released her arrow. The arrow landed in the middle of the team as it released the gas packed in it. The girls jumped down as the team fell asleep.

Asuna searched the pouches and took out a Tsuchi scroll. The girl sighed, "We got the same one."

Suguha nodded, "Just keep it as a spare then. We might need it."

Sinon nodded in agreement. Asuna nodded as she put the scroll into her pouch, "Okay, let's go."

As they leaped through the trees, they spotted Kiba's team and landed on a tree some distance from them. Hinata, who had her Byakugan activated, spoke, "Asuna's team is here."

They all turned to see team 11. Shino nodded to them, "Hello."

The girls nodded in reply as Kiba said, "Hey, what are you girls doing here?"

Suguha shrugged, "We were looking for Hikari-chan. You got any luck with the scrolls?"

Kiba nodded, "Yeah, we just got the one we want."

Shino then asked warily, "You're not thinking of taking ours, right?"

Asuna shook her head, "Nah, it wouldn't be right. We'll see you later in the tower then."

Sinon nodded, "Yeah, we need to find the other scrolls."

Hinata nodded, "Okay, stay safe."

The three girls smiled as they took off again. Shino sighed in relief as the girls left, "If they fought us, we wouldn't last long."

Kiba blinked, "What did you say?"

Shino nodded, "If they fought us, they could easily beat us. They would target you first, then Hinata and me. Their close ranged combat is excellent, Sinon has them covered in long range, and you know you don't stand a chance against them."

Kiba sighed, "True. Let's go."

As they leaped through the trees, Hinata suddenly spoke, "Stop."

Kiba smelled blood while Shino sensed a disturbance in the surrounding chakra. Kiba narrowed his eyes, "Something's wrong here."

Hinata nodded before she looked down, and the sight disgusted her. The Hyuga's eyes widened in fear, "Don't move."

Kiba and Shino looked down and their eyes widened. Below them laid a few corpses, all ripped to pieces with blood splattered on the ground. In the middle was Gaara, his sand floating dangerously as the Jinchurikii of the Icihibi stared at them neutrally, two scrolls in his hands.

Gaara let out a breath and turned, walking away to Kankuro and Temari. Kiba sighed in relief as Shino slumped onto the tree. Hinata just let out a breath as they sat there for a while before heading towards the tower.

Meanwhile, Hikari and her team were leaping through the trees before she spotted three familiar figures.

Hikari smiled, "Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan, Sinon-chan."

The three girls smiled as they greeted the blonde. Sinon asked, "So, how is it going?"

Hikari sighed, "We got two Ten scrolls. We need another."

Asuna blinked, "Two Ten scrolls?"

Hikari nodded and brought out the scrolls. Suguha laughed, "Then it's a coincidence, we need a Ten scroll and we have an extra Tsuchi scroll."

Hikari's eyes widened, "Really?"

Sinon nodded, "Yeah, we found a spare and decided to keep it. Your team can have the spare one."

Hikari nodded as they quickly exchanged scrolls. Sasuke and Sakura meanwhile wisely shut up lest they anger Hikari.

Then, suddenly, Hikari shouted, "Move, now!"

Everyone jumped up just to avoid a huge blast of wind that shredded the place where they were just now to pieces.

They landed to see a long haired figure with a straw hat. The figure chuckled, "Kukuku, not bad, to have avoided my jutsu."

Asuna asked, "Who are you?"

The figure threw the hat away and smiled maniacally, "Who knows? But, I'm here for your lives."

The figure shot forward and punched Suguha in the gut, sending her flying into a tree. The figure then turned and kicked Hikari onto the ground before backhanding Asuna into Sinon, sending both of them onto the ground.

The figure sighed, "Well, I guess I shouldn't have expected too much. Now, Sasuke-kun, lets see how well you do."

The figure ignored Sakura as he moved towards the last Uchiha. In that instant, Sasuke saw his death. He saw himself dying in all kinds of methods, some he didn't even know.

The figure chuckled, "Frozen in fear with just this tiny bit of killing intent, I see why Itachi spared you. You were simply too weak."

Instantly, Sasuke saw red once he heard those words. Hatred boiled in his eyes as he charged, "Don't mention his NAME!"

The figure laughed, "That's more like it!"

Sasuke threw a fist at the figure who caught it easily and kicked Sasuke into a tree. The figure sighed, "Come on, show me more."

Sasuke struggled to stand as he was stuck in the tree. The figure sighed, "It seems I was wrong about you. Whatever."

He flashed through several handseals and spoke, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

A huge snake appeared as the figure spoke, "Kill him."

The snake nodded and shot forward. Sakura screamed, "Sasuke-kun!"

The Uchiha closed his eyes, waiting for the impact. But it never came. He slowly opened his eyes to see Hikari standing in front of him, chains coming out of her back into the ground as several chains pulled the snake back.

The blonde spoke, "Run, now."

Sasuke was shocked, "H-hikari?"

The girl yelled, "Run, NOW!"

She turned and Sasuke was shocked to see her with slitted red eyes that burned with anger. He snapped out of his shock and got up. But he didn't run.

Sasuke spoke, "I can't run, not anymore."

The figure raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so you still can fight. Let's have some fun then, let's see how well you do against my summon."

Hikari glared at the man, "Wrong, let's see how well your summon does against mine."

She flashed through handseals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Smoke covered the air as a loud roar rang through the area. The smoke cleared to reveal a light blue dragon. Hikari said, "Tiamat-san."

The dragon nodded at the girl, "Hikari, I see we have a snake to skin."

The blonde nodded, "Can you handle it?"

Tiamat laughed, "Of course I can, but, the question is, can you handle its summoner?"

Before Hikari could answer, Asuna spoke as she walked to them, "Hikari-chan won't be alone."

Suguha nodded as she stood with them, "Yeah, we'll fight by her."

Sinon walked into view as she readied her bow, "If need be, we can summon our summons."

Tiamat nodded as she faced the snake, "Fine. Just don't die."

Hikari nodded as the dragon dragged the snake away. Then, the figure sighed and raised his arm, "I think this is where I stop. Besides, if we fight here, we'd attract too much attention."

The man smiled, "I should just do what I came to do and be off with my owb business."

Suddenly, the man's head extended and shot towards Sasuke, biting him in the neck as Sasuke yelled in pain. The girls reacted quickly as Suguha swung her katana at the man's extended neck, Asuna stabbing her rapier into the flesh, Sinon shooting an arrow at the neck while Hikari slammed a Chidori into the neck.

The girls quickly ran to Sasuke as the body fell limp. They saw a Sharingan-like mark form at the place where Sasuke was bitten. They were about to discuss about it when a voice spoke, "You know, its rude to interrupt someone like that."

The girls turned to see the figure standing there perfectly fine, with the corpse melting into mud. The man grinned, "Tell Sasuke, that if he wants power, I'm more than happy to give it to him. I will be waiting."

With that, the figure dissolved into snakes and slithered away. The girls all slumped to the ground as they sighed in relief.

Then, Tiamat landed on the ground. The dragon spoke triumphantly, "Hmph, the snake was an easy prey. Hikari, where is that man?"

Hikari looked at the dragon, "He left."

Tiamat, "I see. Very well. Do you need anything else?"

Hikari smiled softly, "Its fine, thank you, Tiamat."

The dragon smiled and vanished in a puff of smoke. Sakura then asked, "So, what do we do now?"

Sinon spoke, "We need to find a place to rest. We can't fight like this or get to the tower with Sasuke unconscious."

The other girls nodded as Asuna spoke, "Sakura, you can carry Sasuke, right?"

The pinkette nodded as she pulled Sasuke up and slung one of his arms onto her shoulder. Hikari nodded, "Let's go."

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the forest. Kirito and Anko were leaping through the trees. Well, Anko was... Kirito was flying.

Kirito spoke, "That wasn't natural. How can someone tear their face away?"

Anko shook her head, "No idea. But, I have a pretty good idea who did it."

Kirito blinked, "Who?"

Anko didn't reply as she stopped on one branch. Kirito also stopped as he saw a long haired figure standing there, waiting for them.

The woman glared at the man, "Orochimaru."

Orochimaru grinned, "What? Not sensei anymore? That's a shame."

Anko glared at him harder, "Why are you here?"

The Sannin chuckled, "Why, I'm interested in the 'last Uchiha'. So, who's this?"

Kirito grinned, staring down at the Sannin, "Who knows? But... you seem different from what I expected, Orochimaru."

The Snake Sannin grinned, "Is that so? But, those wings, you must be Kayaba's apprentice then."

Anko growled, "Enough."

She sent several snakes from her sleeves that coiled around the Sannin and pulled, but then Orochimaru turned into a pile of mud.

Orochimaru appeared behind them and spoke, "Still as hot headed as ever, but I'm not here for you."

The snake made a handsign and instantly Anko fell to the ground, clutching her mark in pain. Kirito saw this and charged the man, "Stop it!"

The teen drew his swords and slashed at Orochimaru. The Sannin raised an eyebrow and blocked it with the Kusanagi.

Orochimaru spoke, "Hmm, not bad. But, I heard you fought Zabuza, you must be strong. I wonder, how good are you as a body compared to Sasuke? Or maybe those girls?"

Kirito narrowed his eyes, "Body?"

Orochimaru grinned, "Oops, I said too much. But, no matter."

Kirito glared at the man, aware he was still controlling Anko's seal, "It will matter. Rise, rage, dance, spirits of the storm."

Orochimaru's eyes widened as a magic circle formed in front of him and Kirito roared, "Blow em away, TEMPESTA!"

Instantly, a huge storm shot out of the seal and blew Orochimaru away, shredding him to pieces. Kirito, however, knew it would take more than that to kill him.

The blacksmith turned to block a slash from the Kusanagi. Orochimaru grinned, "Hmph, it seems you're not that stupid, but, not a bad wind jutsu."

Kirito tch'd and swung his swords again, missing Orochimaru as he leaped back. The snake sannin chuckled, "Sorry, but this is where we part ways. If I stay here, the Anbu will come, worse, Sarutobi-sensei might come. I'm not as arrogant to think I can win. Ciao."

The snake melted into mud and Kirito realized he had been talking to a clone. He cursed and quickly went to look at Anko. The woman spoke, "Go, who knows what he'll do to them. I'll be fine on my own."

Kirito nodded as he spread his wings and shot into the air, going to find team 7.

Meanwhile, the girls and Sasuke had managed to find a resting area under a tree. It was shaped like a cave and was suitable to rest.

Sakura laid the unconscious teen on the floor and looked at the other girls, "So, what do we do now?"

Asuna hmm'd, "We should rest here. We already got the scrolls, and we have four days left."

Hikari nodded, "Yeah. We can't carry Sasuke. If an enemy comes for us, we won't be able to defend ourselves. We'll have to camp the night here."

Suguha nodded, "I don't really like it, but fine."

Sakura just nodded as they sat down to rest, unaware of the purple chakra that Sasuke was releasing.

XXX

Done. Review please. So I have exams this week, so sorry if the updates this week will be slower.


	15. Chapter 15

Hey guys. This is chapter 15. **Guest-questioner** , you made a really good point. I know, I messed up... but, after the Chuunin exam arc, I'm planning on letting Kirito with less 'screen time' and focusing more on Asuna, Suguha and Sinon.

By the way, I don't know, but shouldn't the title give away that Kirito is gonna be the MC of focus here? I mean the idea was to have Kirito, who cannot use chakra (the normal way), wanting to protect someone but cannot become a ninja.

Regardless, I did make quite some mistakes with the proportions of focus. So yeah, lets go.

XXX

With teams 7 and 11, they were resting in the tree-cave. Sasuke was still unconscious and the girls were all tired, falling asleep.

Meanwhile, above on the trees, the team from Otogakure were looking down at the teams. Dosu sighed, "They outnumber us two to one, at this rate I don't think we can even touch the Uchiha."

Zaku nodded, "Yeah, but, they're now resting, maybe we could surprise them?"

Kin nodded, "Good idea, if we do not try, Orochimaru-sama will be pissed."

The two nodded as they jumped down. As soon as they landed, several cats jumped onto them and started to bite and scratch them.

Dosu yelled, "What the fuck?!"

Zaku screamed as the the cats started ripping his hair off and threw his mask away, biting him everywhere.

As for Kin, she was screaming her head off as the cats bit her head, arms and legs while messing up her hair, scratching her face all over with their claws.

The screams alerted the girls as Hikari quickly conjured up chains and tied the three up.

Suguha grinned and looked at Sinon, "Nice job, Sinon-chan."

The brunette smiled, "Yeah, thanks guys."

The cats stood at attention and nodded, the head cat smiled, "Of course, Sinon. We aim to please."

The archer nodded smiling, "Thank you, you can go now."

The cats nodded and vanished in a puff of smoke. The girls then turned to the three Oto gennin.

Asuna asked, "So, what should we do to the three of you?"

Kin glared at the girls, "You can let us kill the Uchiha and let us be on our way."

The Oto kunoichi was miffed and jealous of them. Compared to the group of girls in front of them, Kin was inferior in terms of looks and maybe even skill.

Sakura glared at the girl, "Why would you wanna kill him?"

Dosu shrugged, "Who knows?"

Zaku looked at them, "So, what will you do now? Kill us?"

Sinon pondered, "Well, its not forbidden. But, it'd leave a bad taste in my mouth is we just killed you here and now."

Suguha then spoke, "How about we just leave them here? I mean they did say that they'd collect those who didn't reach the tower in time once the time was up."

Kin asked with widened eyes, "You're just gonna leave us here?!"

Sakura stared at her, "Why not? I mean you said you were targetting Sasuke-kun."

Before they could continue however, a black figure landed in front of them. Kirito sighed in relief, "Okay good, you're all fine."

Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon said in surprise, "Kirito-kun?"

The swordsman grinned, "Yo, I see you've just dealt with some enemies... with some interesting ways..."

Kirito saw the scratch marks and decided not to ask before he asked, "So, did you encounter Orochimaru?"

Hikari blinked, "Orochimaru?"

Kirito nodded, "I'm here because a while ago, we encountered him, and he said something about Sasuke and you girls."

Asuna's eyes widened, "A while ago, we fought a man with a snake summon... that's Orochimaru..."

Sakura's eyes widened and she spoke, "He also bit Sasuke-kun at the neck, now he has a Sharingan-like mark."

Kirito blinked, "A Sharingan-like mark? Where is he anyways?'

Suguha pointed to the tree-cave, "In there. He's been unconscious since he got bit."

Kirito nodded and started to walk towards the tree before a huge purple chakra exploded out of the tree, sending them flying back a bit.

As the dust cleared, Sasuke could be seen standing there, purple chakra oozing out of his body, with seals all over his body.

The Uchiha grinned, "This power, it feels awesome. This is what I need to kill Itachi."

The crazed Uchiha looked out of the tree-cave and saw everyone else there. Sasuke smirked, "Hikari, with this power, will you come with me? I will promise you, we can be happy, we will reform the Uchiha clan, and you will be by my side."

Hikari narrowed her eyes at him, "He's acting weird..."

Kirito thought but didn't say, 'When is he not weird...'

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as Hikari didn't reply, "I see. Its because of him, right? If I kill him and Itachi, you will be mine, right?"

Sakura stared at the crazed Uchiha fearfully, feeling the malicious chakra, "Sasuke-kun..."

The other girls started to reach for their weapons as Sasuke walked towards them. The Uchiha smirked, "Very well, I will kill you, Kirito. I still need to try out this new power!"

Instantly, Sasuke appeared in front of Kirito and swung his fist at the swordsman. But Kirito was ready and judo flipped Sasuke into a tree.

Kirito quickly drew his swords to block another punch from the Uchiha. Sasuke growled, "I WILL KILL YOU!"

Kirito's eyes widened as Sasuke suddenly spat fireballs at him. It was only due to pure instinct that Kirito managed to dodge the fireballs by ducking while pushing Sasuke away.

Kirito thought, 'I need to knock him out. As much as I hate him, I can't kill him yet.'

Kirito sheathed his swords and chanted, "Ek skýt tuttugu smár striða, go, Wind Needles!"

Instantly, twenty barely visible wind needles formed and pierced Sasuke's limbs, especially his legs, causing him to fall to the ground.

Not giving Sasuke a chance to recover, Kirito activated his Acceleration to its fullest and appeared behind Sasuke, neck chopping him hard and knocking him out.

Kirito let out a breath, "This proves that Orochimari has got him. I need to tell Anko-san and Hokage-sama."

He turned to the two teams, "So, are you done with the scrolls?"

Sinon nodded, "Yeah... but you're an examiner... shouldn't you be... not helping?"

Kirito shook his head, "The circumstances have changed. Of course, I'll guide you to the tower, but unless its anything related to Orochimaru, I can't intervene. If someone attacks me, I won't stand still too of course."

The girls nodded and Sakura asked, "So... we're moving out now?"

Kirito nodded, "Its better to get to the tower now. You're all winded quite a bit and Orochimaru is out for Sasuke... possibly all of you too. I can't leave you all be here."

They nodded and Hikari looked at Sakura, "Can you carry Sasuke? You're not exactly combat ready now."

The pinkette nodded and picked up Sasuke, grunting a bit at his weight and her lack of physical training. Kirito blinked and asked Suguha, "Suguha-chan, can you summon birds to carry them? I think it'd be better, at this rate, Sakura will burn out before we can reach the tower."

Suguha nodded and bit her thumb, smearing her palm with the blood as she flashed through handseals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Instantly, three horse sized eagles appeared. The eagle in the middle asked, "Suguha-sama, what do you need of us?"

Suguha asked reluctantly, "Umm, is it okay if you give us a ride, Talon?"

The eagle hmph'd, "Of course, there are seven of you though, we can only carry two each."

Kirito then spoke, "Its fine. I can fly on my own."

The eagle raised an eyebrow before he nodded as Kirito spread his wings, "I see, very well. Do keep up with us."

Soon, Asuna and Sinon sat on one eagle, Hikari and Suguha sat on one eagle while Sakura and Sasuke sat on the final one. Kirito rose above the air as the eagles took flight.

Talon asked, "So where to?"

Suguha pointed to the tower some distance from them, "That tower."

Talon nodded, "Got it."

As they flew, they could see several gennin in the forest fighting. They also spotted Kabuto and his team fighting off two tigers while several other teams were wandering around.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the tower. Kirito landed as the girls got off the eagles. Suguha smiled at the birds, "Thank you, Talon."

The eagle gave a small smile and nodded, "A pleasure to help. That right boys?"

The two other eagles nodded before they returned to their realm. Kirito then spoke, "Okay, this is as far as I can bring you, get into the tower and meet me at the cafeteria. That's your hint."

He pointed at a sign before Kirito vanished in a flash of red. Hikari pouted, "He could have at least brought us in..."

Asuna sighed and went to the sign (a bit tired to rewrite the poem. So if you haven't watched Naruto or read any Naruto fics... which I doubt... go search it online). She stared at it and deadpanned, "This is Hokage-sama's work no doubt. I think I got it."

She took out the scrolls and gave one to Hikari, "I think we're supposed to open them at the same time."

The Uzumaki nodded as the two long haired girls pulled open the scrolls. Then, as soon as they unrolled the scrolls, they saw two seals that started to release smoke.

Sinon yelled, "Throw them, now!"

The two girls quickly threw the scroll to the floor as the smoke increased. The smoke quickly cleared to reveal Iruka standing there.

The Chunnin instructor grinned, "Oh, so you're the ones who summoned me. Congrats on passing the second part, I'm pretty sure you understand what that sign was talking about, right?"

Asuna nodded, "Yes, Iruka-sensei."

Sinon and Suguha just stayed silent. They understood what it meant, but they didn't want Iruka to go Full-lecture mode.

The Chunnin chuckled, "I guess I'll spare you the lectures. Come on, you can go in."

The girls nodded as Sakura hauled Sasuke into the tower. As they entered, they saw Kirito waiting for them by the door. Asuna glared lightly at him, "Kirito-kun, that was mean, ya know?"

The swordsman chuckled, "Sorry, but not bad, I mean you're not the first ones here, but you all made it in one day. Even though its evening now.".

Suguha then asked, "So, are you going to explain why are you one of the proctors?"

Kirito chuckled nervously under the stern gazes of the four girls, "Ermm, well, Hokage-sama asked me to do it, I saw no harm in closing my shop a few days for an S-rank pay. So..."

Sinon sighed, "I see. I guess it can't be helped. You're already here."

Kirito sighed in relief as the other three girls nodded before they glared at him slightly. The brunette spoke, "But, you could've at least told us."

Kirito smiled nervously, thinking of a response until Anko came to save the day. The snake user grinned and slung an arm over Sinon, "Hey, secrecy and fairness, all those shit. Don't blame him much, its Hokage-sama's work after all."

Asuna sighed, "Fine."

Kirito sighed in relief, "Sorry, I'll make it up to you. But before that, I'll bring you to your rooms. There're rooms for you to rest up for the remaining four days after all."

The girls nodded as Anko picked Sasuke up. The woman grinned, "I'll help throw this lil bastard into his room too. Lezz go."

The next day, Hikari, Kirito, Anko and Kakashi were in the Hokage's spare office in the tower.

Hiruzen spoke, "So, Orochimaru attacked your teams, right?"

Hikari nodded, "Yes, he left a seal on Sasuke's neck. I looked at it, but I still probably haven't reached that level yet."

Anko narrowed her eyes, "A cursed mark then."

Hiruzen nodded, "Yeah, Kakashi, seal the mark. We can't let him be influenced by it. I'll increase the Anbu patrols around the area in case he comes back."

Anko then spoke, "Hokage-sama, I request we stop the Chunnin Exams, or at least disqualify Sasuke."

Hiruzen shook his head, "Denied. If we stop it, he'll take this as a sign of weakness. If we disqualify Sasuke, it'll push the boy to him. We can't act recklessly."

Anko sighed and clenched her fists. The Hokage spoke, "Anko, I know you hate him. But its not the time yet. We need to see why he wants Sasuke, or any of the girls for that matter. Kirito, he did say something like that, didn't he?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, something about a body."

Hiruzen thought, 'That'd mean he's completed it. No, or maybe he's up to something else.'

The old Sarutobi spoke, "Then, Kakashi, go seal Sasuke's seal. Anko, Kirito, I want you two to increase the security around the tower, and tell Asuna, Suguha and Sinon to stay alert, as well as Sakura and Sasuke. Hikari, I want to speak to you in private."

The aforementioned three nodded and turned to leave the room, with Hikari in the office with the old Hokage.

Hiruzen said, "Hikari, I know you found out about your parents. You must have questions for me."

Hikari nodded and stared at him neutrally, "Of course."

Hiruzen stared at the girl as she asked, "Why did you hide it? Why did you reveal my status as a Jinchurikii instead?"

The Hokage sighed, "You should know that Minato and Kushina had a lot of enemies. After the Kyuubi attack, the village was weak. We wouldn't survive a war. If I told them about your lineage, they'd stop at nothing to kill you. But, if I told them our village had a Jinchurikii, they wouldn't dare attack us."

Hikari realized the old man was far more than the grandfather-like figure she knew. The girl glared at him, "So, you hid it, because of the village? And you revealed it to show the world you have a weapon that can destroy them?"

Hiruzen sighed, "If you put it that way, yes. But, I never saw you as a weapon, Hikari. It was required for the village's safety."

Hikari glared at him coldly, "So you used me to protect the village, while the village was having fun hurting me?"

Hiruzen looked at her, "What do you mean? The worst they did was just sell you bad food."

Hikari glared at him, "That was after I met Kirito-kun, Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan. Before that, I had no one, everyone hated me, they called me a demon. And selling me bad food is not the worst they did."

Hiruzen stayed silent, he knew she wasn't lying. He could hear it, he could see it. The girl continued, "Before I met them, once in a while, some of the villagers would pull into an alley and beat me up. I always healed from the wounds because of the Kyuubi's chakra, leaving no scars."

Hiruzen closed his eyes, not daring to look at Hikari. He knew the village did a lot of harm to her, and he had done nothing to help. It was a miracle no one had raped her, and he was thankful for that.

Hikari continued, "I don't hate them now, but at times I really wanted die. I thought my parents abandoned me because I really was a demon."

Hiruzen opened his eyes and said, "Minato and Kushina wouldn't do that."

Hikari glared at him, "Yeah, I know now. But, did I know who my parents were at that time?"

Hiruzen fell silent. The blonde continued, "I can understand why Kirito-kun didn't tell me. I can understand why Kakashi-sensei didn't tell me. But at least, they both did do their best to protect me. Hokage-sama, I saw you as a grandfather, but I guess I'm just a weapon."

Hiruzen tried to defend himself, "I never saw you as a weapon! You're like a granddaughter to me, you know that!"

Hikari snapped, "But that doesn't change the fact that you used me as a weapon! You basically told the world Konoha had the Kyuubi as a weapon!"

The girl let out a breath, "I always wanted to know who my parents were. But, Hokage-sama, you manipulated me for the village. I always respected you, but not anymore."

Hikari turned and left the office. Hiruzen sighed and thought, 'I messed up. Minato, what should I do? If she finds out Jiraiya and Tsunade are her godparents and I sent Jiraiya on a long term spy mission and lied to Tsunade about her, I'm dead.'

With Hikari, she was angry. She knew she would snap at him, but she didn't care. At the end, the Hokage just saw her as a weapon for the village, he had hid everything from her for the village. Now that she thought about it, even her parents had sacrificed themselves and her childhood for the village.

The girl clenched her fists and went back to her room to sleep and calm down.

Later, Asuna and Hikari were sitting beside in the training area. Suguha and Sinon were in the cafeteria eating and the two long haired girls didn't feel like eating.

Asuna asked, "So, what did Hokage-sama want?"

Hikari replied, "He wanted to talk about Orochimaru and Sasuke. Please just don't mention him, I don't want to talk about him now."

Asuna nodded, she guessed Hiruzen probably told her about his reasons for not telling Hikari about her parents and stuff.

The rapier user then asked, "By the way, don't you think its weird? Kirito-kun suddenly being a proctor. I mean he's not a ninja."

Hikari nodded, "And with Orochimaru here, I think something is going on."

Asuna nodded before she asked, "So, how are you doing with the Rasengan and your chains?"

Hikari smiled slightly, "I'm almost done with the Rasengan, I just need to try without the balloon. As for my chains, I'm getting the hang of it. I'm also starting level 3 for my seals."

Asuna nodded, "I see. Good then."

Hikari then asked, "What about you?"

Asuna smiled, "I'm trying to learn several water kenjutsu techniques. Yugao-sensei has given us quite some sword techniques."

Hikari nodded before Asuna spoke, "Come to think of it, since you're the Yondaime Hokage's daughter, shouldn't you have some inheritance?"

The daughter of the Fourth Hokage nodded, "I guess, I'll have to ask Kirito-kun to see if he knows."

Asuna nodded, "Okay. But we won't see him for the next three days, since he's one of the proctors."

Hikari shrugged, "Eh, I don't mind waiting."

Three days later, everyone was on the top floor of the tower with an arena. Teams 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 from Konoha were all there. Kabuto's team, Gaara's team and the Oto team had passed and they all stood there. The Jounin sensei were all standing at the side.

Hiruzen looked at the Gennin in front of him, "Congratulations for passing the second part of the test. You all did well. But, before we move on to the third part, I want to tell you about the truth of the exams."

Everyone stayed silent, those who had taken the test before like Kabuto knew what he was talking about. Hiruzen continued, "The exams are a way to let you advance in rank, but its also a simulation of war."

The gennin started to mummer among themselves as Hiruzen coughed, gaining their attention, "Let me explain. You all know about the third shinobi war. Things like hate from war just don't vanish. So we decided to use the Chunnin Exams for that. The exams are a way to show off a village's power. If you win and advance, then it shows your village is strong, and more clients will hire ninja from that village."

Hiruzen paused, allowing everyone to digest what they heard. He then continued, "You can say that the world is in a peace slash cold war situation. We're not exactly in a peaceful era, but we're not in a wartime either. Its a grey area. But that's beyond the point."

The Hokage looked at Kirito and nodded. The swordsman stepped forward, "Okay, so with that aside, we'll be having a little set of preliminary matches. Too many of you passed the second exam and since the third exam is tournament style, with an audience, it'd be too time consuming."

Kiba yelled, "But some of us just got here!"

Kirito stared at his friend, "Then if you want, drop out. You were given 5 days to get the scrolls and get to the tower. So I'll only give you all one chance, if you want to leave, leave now."

Kabuto raised his arm, "I'm out. I just got here, my chakra is low and I'm tired as hell."

Kirito nodded as Kabuto left the arena. The blacksmith then looked at the others, "Anyone else?"

Sakura looked at Sasuke who was obviously tired. The girl was about to get Kirito to let Sasuke rest but the Uchiha seemed to know what she was thinking and shook his head at her.

The pinkette sighed and nodded.

Kirito looked around before he nodded, "Fine. So, we'll be having matches at random, all single matches. We'll determine to see who fights with that."

He snapped his fingers and on cue, a huge monitor appeared on the walls. Kirito grinned as the monitor started to run through several names until it reached, Akado Yoroi vs Uchiha Sasuke.

Kirito nodded, "Okay, everyone else, go up to the stands, except the two mentioned above."

Everyone walked up, with Sakura looking worriedly at Sasuke. As they stood by the stands, Kakashi spoke, "Don't worry, Sasuke will win. They're both tired."

Hikari just stared at them. She didn't like Sasuke, but as a teammate, she still wanted him to win. The others just looked on passively.

Below in the ring, Kirito said, "Are you two ready?"

Sasuke and Yoroi both nodded, not taking their eyes off of each other. Kirito raised his arm and swung it down, "Then, HAJIME!"

Quickly Sasuke charges and gave Yoroi a hard punch. The man managed to cross his arms to block the punch but it sent him skidding a few feet back.

Yoroi smirked, "Oh, not bad."

Sasuke just stared at the man as he activated his Sharingan, now with two tomoe. The teen flashed through handseals and yelled, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

He spat out a massive fireball that charged the man. Yoroi quickly leaped away and dogdged the attack before he charged Sasuke.

Yoroi swung his fist and managed to graze Sasuke's cheek as he leaned to the side. As Sasuke regained his footing, he thought, 'What was that? It felt like I just lost some chakra...'

Yoroi smirked, "What's wrong? Lost a bit of chakra?"

Sasuke stared at the man, 'He did something to me. Just now his fist barely touched me, and I lost a bit of chakra.'

The masked man asked, "Why are you standing there?"

Sasuke didn't reply and just charged in. The Uchiha saw the man's every move and managed to judo flip the man into the ground. But at the same time, he lost some chakra whenever he touched Yoroi.

Sasuke quickly leaped away as Yoroi tried to sweeped him off his feet. The Uchiha glared at the man, "You're absorbing my chakra, aren't you?"

Yoroi chuckled, "Bingo. Everywhere I touch you, or vice versa, I can absorb chakra, but my hands work better at that."

Sasuke tch'd, 'If I lose chakra again, I might lose control.'

He could feel the seal trying to get him to use it. It was honestly tempting, but he knew better than that. Sasuke couldn't rely on power like that to beat Itachi, not if it meant losing his sanity, he still had to get Hikari for himself after all. (Or so he thinks)

Sasuke composed himself as Yoroi charged. The man sent a punch at him, but Sasuke saw it coming and gave him a cross counter that sent Yoroi flying into the wall.

Kirito raised an eyebrow at that, he vaguely remembered doing the exact same thing to Sasuke before. The others looked on, slightly impressed that the punch packed that much power.

But unfortunately, Yoroi wasn't done. The man stood up and glared at the teen. Yoroi growled, "Now you've done it."

The man sent chakra to his legs and charged, throwing a fist at Sasuke. The speed slightly surprised Sasuke and the teen instinctively raised his arms to block. That was his mistake.

The Uchiha blocked the punch easily, but he wasn't ready for what happened next. As soon as the fist connected, Sasuke lost considerably quite some chakra before Yoroi grabbed his face and pinned him to the ground, mounting him at the same time.

The man used his legs to hold the teen down while grabbing Sasuke's face, absorbing his chakra. Yoroi smirked, "How's this? I will suck you dry if you don't give up."

Sasuke struggled to push the man away but because he was constantly losing chakra, he was getting weaker every second. The teen could feel his chakra flowing out of his body every second as his efforts weakened.

As the fight went on everyone had similar thoughts, 'What the fuck? This looks straight out of a gay hentai scene...'

Sakura spoke in disbelief, "Sasuke-kun is being raped by a man..."

Hikari facepalmed while Asuna, Suguha and Sinon just sighed. Kakashi however had other thoughts, 'If this goes on, the cursed mark might activate. I hope Kirito knows what he's doing.'

Everyone had heard Sakura's comment and started to laugh. Yoroi wanted to end this quickly as he knew Orochimaru was watching somewhere and will probably kill him or laugh his ass off.

The man sighed and lessened his grip, and that was all the chance Sasuke needed. The Uchiha was furious when he heard that comment and now, he would unleash his fury upon the man.

Unknown to anyone, his cursed mark glowed slightly and Sasuke received a burst of normal chakra. The Uchiha swung his right leg and kicked Yoroi hard, his knee coincidentally crushing Yoroi's crotch.

The man yelled in pain before Sasuke quickly got up, pushing the man away before giving him a hard uppercut. Sasuke then vanished in a burst of speed and appeared under Yoroi.

Kakashi, Gai and Lee's eyes widened as they recognized the move. Lee thought, 'Kage Buyo?!'

Kakashi thought, 'He must have copied it from Lee. But, he didn't show any signs of being hit by the Omote Renge.'

Sasuke glanced at Lee for a brief second, 'I don't know what happens after this, so I'll improvise, I'll borrow your technique, Rock Lee!'

Sasuke threw a punch with his right hand but was blocked by Yoroi. However, Sasuke wasn't done. He quickly spun and kicked Yoroi upwards before he landed on the ground and jumped up high.

Sasuke gave Yoroi a series of kicks and punches as they fell. Then, right before they touched the ground, Sasuke spun and gave a devastating kick to Yoroi's gut as he yelled, "Shishi Rendan!"

The man had fallen unconscious halfway through the barrage and fell limp. Kirito saw this and spoke, "Winner, Uchiha Sasuke. Medics!"

A group of medics came and carried Yoroi away on a stretcher. The Jounin all sighed. While Sasuke's win was mostly out of luck, one of the main reasons Yoroi lost was due to him revealing his powers like a third rate villain. Though they had to admit, that barrage was quite impressive.

As Sasuke walked up to the stands, Sakura beamed, "Nice fight, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke nodded as he sat down against the wall. Kakashi spoke, "Sasuke, are you fine?"

The Uchiha nodded, "Yeah, the mark didn't activate. I'm fine now."

Kakashi nodded as they continued to watch. Hikari didn't say anything and just nodded to the Uchiha, acknowledging his victory.

Kirito cleared his throat, "Okay, so the next set of names please."

The monitor started to go through several names until it ended with, Uzumaki Hikari vs Inuzuka Kiba.

XXX

Done. Review please.


	16. Chapter 16

Hey. Wow... in around a month, this story has 112 followers and 98 favs... not bad... for me at least.

Thank you, **NinjaFang1331**. I try my best.

 **flo463** , well, I was actually hoping to use more cannon stuff here and mix in the SAO elements, like how I did with my Cross Ange/Gundam fic. Plus, yes, they are stronger compared to cannon, but Orochimaru caught them by surprise and Orochimaru still is a Sannin. And no, Kirito will not learn normal ninjutsu or genjutsu. I will have him learn something else... I have a hint here in this chapter. And Orochimaru didn't know about Kirito's powers, I mean Kabuto didn't know since he's Orochimaru's spy.

So... without further ado, let's go.

XXX

Hikari stood in front of Kiba and Akamaru. The Inuzuka was scared, if he was honest. He knew how strong the girl was and especially if she was pissed. And Kiba knew when women were pissed, since his father left, Tsume and Hana took care of him, and the boy knew when women were angry for experience.

Unfortunately for Kiba, Hikari was pissed. Not at him, but at the Hokage for hiding her heritage for stupid reasons and slightly at Kirito for not telling her about him being a proctor.

Kirito spoke, "So, are you two ready?"

Hikari nodded as Kiba put on a brave face and said determinedly, "Yeah!"

Kirito nodded and swung his arm down before leaping away, "Then, BEGIN!"

Kiba immediately charged forward with Akamaru. Hikari just stood there, unmoving. Then, right before Kiba and Akamaru entered striking range, the two partners jumped up and away to avoid a wave of chains from the ground.

Hikari smiled slightly, "Oh, you dodged it."

Kiba stared at the girl as the chains danced dangerously around her, "What are those chains?"

An innocent smile that could have fooled anyone appeared on Hikari's face, "Its just my bloodline."

The chains shot forward at Kiba and Akamaru who dodged the chains, jumping around as the chains moved like snakes.

To the others on the stands, Kiba and Hikari were both doing well. For a taijutsu expert, Kiba was dodging the long ranged attacks quite well. As for Hikari, she was an all-rounder and chose the correct way to fight.

The girl willed the chains to shoot towards Kiba and Akamaru once again, this time willing them to move wildy. Kiba was caught by surprise and he was flung away onto the ground.

Akamaru landed in front of Kiba and growled at the chains as his master slowly got up. Hikari sighed, she really felt bad doing this.

Kiba grinned, "You're really strong, Hikari."

The girl stared at the pair of partners as Kiba took out a pouch, "That's why I am going all out now, Akamaru!"

He threw a pill at the dog who caught it in his mouth and bit into it, turning red. Kiba also ate one of the pills as he received a boost of chakra.

Everyone stared at them, intrigued by the change. Some of them knew that Kiba ate a regular chakra pill but decided to stay silent.

Kiba made a handseal, "Let's go, Akamaru. Juujin Bunshin!"

Akamaru was then clouded by a cloud of smoke, the smoke slowly clearing off to reveal a clone of Kiba. The less feral looking Kiba then bent down, "Shikyaku no Jutsu!"

The Inuzuka turned feral and became identical to Akamaru. Hikari hmm'd, 'So Akamaru is the clone, to make it hard to know who is who, Kiba also turned into a similar form. Not bad.'

The two charged as Kiba yelled, "Let's go, GATSUGA!"

The two leaped up and started to spin, forming two tornadoes of destruction. Hikari raised an eyebrow at the attack that was closing in on her.

As soon as the two cyclones reached her, Hikari jumped up and avoided being shredded to pieces. The girl had thought maybe Kiba and Akamaru would drill into the ground. But that was just wishful thinking.

The two cyclones bounced off the ground and continued to move towards the Uzumaki. Hikari decided to end it quickly as she landed, 'Sorry, Kiba, Akamaru.'

The girl sent her chains underground and shot them out directly below Kiba and Akamaru, using their momentum to quickly wrap the chains around them before she swung them onto the ground.

Soon, Kiba was revealed to be unconscious on the ground with the chains around him. Akamaru had returned to normal and was also unconscious as well.

Hikari looked at Kirito who spoke, "Winner, Uzumaki Hikari. Medics!"

The Uzumaki walked up to the stands where everyone congratulated her on her victory. Gaara stared at the blonde and felt weird. The Shukaku, or his 'mother', was screaming at him to kill her, but he didn't want to.

Temari saw the look in his eyes, 'The way Gaara's lookin at her, you don't think... nah, he only wants to prove his existence through killing, as much as I hate it.'

The next set of names then came up. (Shino vs Zaku, Kankuro vs Misumi, Sakura vs Ino, Shikamaru vs Kin are the same.) Asada Sinon vs Dosu.

The brunette jumped down with her bow as Dosu leaped from his stand. Dosu glared at the girl, "I'll enjoy butchering that face of yours."

Sinon didn't reply as she just glared at him. Kirito sighed, "Are you two ready?"

The two nodded as they readied their weapons. Kirito swung his hand down, "Then, BEGIN!"

Immediately Sinon jumped back and notched an arrow, quickly releasing it at Dosu. The mummy look alike raised his gauntlet to block the arrows before his eyes widened as he saw a volley of arrows raining down upon him.

Sinon grinned, "Arrow Kage Bunshin."

The mummy tried to dodge all of the arrows but it was impossible. His shoulder and legs were pierced with the arrows and it was a miracle he didn't lose his head.

Dosu cursed, some of the arrows hand pierced his gauntlet and damaged it bad enough that he couldn't use it properly as he intended. He could probably still let out sound, but it won't have the effects he needed.

Sinon saw the frustrated look in his eyes and decided to end it. The girl notched another arrow and took aim. Dosu cursed when he saw it and tried to stop her with kunai and forcefully using his melody arm.

The arm didn't function and the kunai that were thrown did not hit his target as Sinon shot his knee. The teen fell to one knee and winced in pain.

Sinon spoke, "Yield, you can't stand, nor can you use your weapons."

Dosu tch'd. He had made the wrong decision. While he specialised in fighting at mid range, disorienting his enemies with the melody arm, Sinon placed distance between them and shot him till he dropped.

He would have chosen to give up, but the teen was prideful, "Fuck you and your arrows."

The girl narrowed her eyes and pulled back her right leg, then she swung it hard at where the sun didn't shine. Dosu let out a silent scream of pain as his eyes rolled to the back and he fell to the ground unconscious.

Sinon then turned to walk away as Kirito announced nervously, "Umm, winner, Asada Sinon."

The men all subconsciously covered their crotch as they looked at Dosu who was carried away by the medics. Then, before Kirito could continue, Hiruzen appeared via Shunshin beside him and spoke, "Kirito, I forgot to mention this, but since Kabuto forfeited, we have an odd number, we'll have to let someone pass."

Kirito blinked, "Eh, really?"

The Hokage nodded, "Yeah, please tell them that."

Kirito blinked and did a head count and found that they really did have an odd number of participants. He facepalmed and spoke, "Before we get to the next match, we missed something. Since someone left, we have an odd number. So, one of you will pass, including the ones who lost just now."

The gennin all started mummering among themselves, mostly about the unfairness of it before Kirito grew a tick mark and yelled, "You're shinobi and adults, nothing is fair! So shut up!"

Kirito sighed, taking out a remote and set the screen to randomly roll a name, "I'll roll the name now."

The screen started to go through names until it landed on one name, Kirigaya Suguha.

The girl grumbled as she sulked, "Why me? I wanna fight..."

Asuna giggled, "Well, at least you can fight in the third part. And you don't need to go through all the trouble here."

Hikari and Sinon both nodded in agreement. But then they didn't have any right, seeing they won their matches quite easily.

The others however, weren't like her. Kankuro tch'd, "Lucky bitch..."

Temari sighed and slapped the cat-man's head, "Shut it, its not her fault she got a pass."

Kankuro sighed while Gaara just ignored his brother. Kirito chuckled a bit seeing their reactions, "So, the next set of names."

He let the screen roll through the names until it stopped at, Hyuga Hinata vs Hyuga Neji.

The two Hyuga looked at each other, one of hate and one of determination. Due to Hikari's influence, and her other friends, Hinata was far from the shy girl she once was. (I mean come on, in cannon, yeah, but here, she had a lot of friends to help her overcome that.)

The Hyuga heiress decided it was time to confront her cousin. Everyone from her class and Kirito knew of Hinata's relationship with Neji and they knew it was going to be hectic.

As the two cousins stood in front of each other, Hinata spoke, "Neji-niisan."

Neji just stared at her coldly, "Hinata-sama, I never thought I would be as lucky to face you."

Hinata just stared at the teen as he continued, "I will say this once, forfeit this match."

The Hyuga heiress shook her head, "No, I won't forfeit, I still have my own reasons to fight."

Neji narrowed his eyes, "Then so be it."

Kirito sighed as he thought, 'I feel some drama shit coming up.'

The man in black spoke, "Enough chat, are you ready?"

The two Hyuga nodded, slidding into their stances of the Juuken. Kirito then swung his arms down, "Begin!".

The branch Hyuga immediately charged forward and sent a Juuken strike at Hinata. The heiress easily parried it away with her forearm and sent her own strike at Neji.

The male Hyuga tch'd and leaned to a side to dodge the attack before he threw another strike at her. Hinata pushed the palm away and countered with her own.

Soon, the two cousins exchanged strike for strike. To others, it looked like they were in a deadly dance, with one mistake being fatal for either of them.

However, most of the Jounin, the Hokage and Kirito noticed something. While Hinata aimed to render Neji unable to fight, Neji was going for fatal strikes that could kill Hinata.

As Neji parried another strike from Hinata, this time, he didn't send a palm strike for her body. Instead, he struck her arm.

Hinata's eyes widened in surprise as she quickly leaped away, her left arm falling limp from Neji's attack. Neji spoke coldly, "Hinata-sama, you should forfeit the match. You were weak enough, now, you can't use your left arm, my victory is more than assured."

Hinata glared slightly at the teen, "What are talking about? I can still fight."

She raised her right arm and slid into a stance, regardless of her left arm that was hanging limp. Neji frowned, "I was holding back, but if that is what you want, I won't hold back!"

The male Hyuga shot forward. For a moment, Hinata seemed to hold her own against him. But with only one arm, she could only do so much.

Neji pushed her arm away before he slammed his palm onto her chest, causing her to spat out blood as she was blown away by the attack. Neji sighed, "Give up, Hinata-sama. You can't win. You will never win."

Hinata struggled to stand up as she stared at her cousin. The other stared on passively. The Jounin were indifferent, whereas Kurenai was a bit pissed. Most of the gennin were a bit put off by how Neji was acting.

Hikari, however, was really pissed. From the start, Neji had been looking down on her. She knew how Neji hated Hinata, but to her, it was going too far.

Hiruzen just stared on passively. He knew the Jounin wouldn't stand idle if Neji went over the line, which he was closing now. In the exams, while killing wasn't forbidden, but not encouraged, bringing personal problems here was certainly a problem. The Hokage knew Gai wouldn't allow it, nor would Kirito.

The heiress finally stood up as Neji sighed, "Just give up, you can't find win. Why do you insist on fighting, even when I give you the chance to walk away?"

Hinata glared at him slightly, "My friends, taught me to never give up. I also have my own dreams, I want to protect my family, that includes you."

Neji narrowed his eyes at her, "Protect your family? Someone like you, someone as weak as you..."

He charged forward and roared, "Can never protect anyone!"

Neji pulled his palm back and sent a Juuken strike aimed at Hinata's heart, ignoring the fact that Gai was yelling at him to stop, ignoring the fact that Hinata didn't flinch or back away and stared at him determinedly.

Before any of the Jounin could leap over the rails to stop Neji, his palm struck... but it didn't strike Hinata. Neji's eyes widened as his palm struck the cold surface of the flat side of a black blade.

Kirito sighed, "That's enough of drama for today. Its your win, Neji."

Neji glared at the swordsman, "What are you doing, Kirito?"

The young man in black pulled his sword away, "I'm still the proctor. Hinata is unable to fight now, that's why I'm ending the match, in your favor."

Neji glared at him, "So even you are going to protect those from the main family."

Kirito shook his head, "Don't misunderstand me. I am merely doing my job as the proctor of the exam. Killing, while not forbidden, is not encouraged, especially not between participants from the same village."

Neji glared, "She is too weak, she should just die or drop out as a ninja."

Kirito was about to reply before Hikari yelled, "Who are you to decide?!"

Neji looked at the blonde girl, "Its not my decision, I am merely suggesting it. Besides, nothing she can do will help her get stronger."

Hikari glared at him, "From the start you just berated Hinata, you didn't let her show how strong she had become. Now you're saying that she can never become strong?!"

Neji nodded, "Exactly, no matter what, everything she does is for naught. She cannot escape fate."

Hinata struggled as she spoke, "But, the one who can't escape fate, is you, Neji-niisan."

Neji narrowed his eyes at her, ignoring the fact that Kirito was in front of him, "What?"

Hinata struggled, "We always tried to change our fates, not just me. But, when have you done that? You've always complained about it, but you never tried to change it, you never tried to remove the cage."

Neji snapped and roared, charging forward, "What would you know?!"

Before he could move however, Kirito grabbed his shoulder with Kakashi grabbing Neji's arm, Gai holding Neji's head while Kurenai restrained Neji's legs.

Gai spoke sternly, "Neji, that's enough. You promised not to bring in personal vendettas."

Neji tch'd, "Fine."

Kirito sighed as the Jounin all let go, "As I said earlier, due to Hinata unable to fight, Neji wins."

Then before he could continue, Hinata started coughing blood as she fell to the ground. Kurenai and Hikari quickly went to check on her. Neji just hmph'd as he started walking back to the stands.

Hikari glared at him, "Hey! Your name was Neji, right?"

The Hyuga turned to look at the Uzumaki, "What of it?"

Hikari glared at him, "I'll defeat you, in the next round."

Neji smirked, "I'd like to see you try."

The Hyuga turned and walked up to the stands as the medics took Hinata away. Hikari and the Jounin then walked up to the stands.

Asuna asked, "Hikari-chan, was that necessary?"

The blonde nodded, "Of course, he just said everything Hinata did was meaningless. It pissed me off."

Suguha and Sinon nodded. They understood how Hikari felt, the three of them didn't like it, but it wasn't their place to do anything. Then, the next set of names came up, Gaara vs Rock Lee.

Lee jumped down and stared at Gaara who Shunshin'd down. Kirito had a bad feeling about the aura Gaara exerted but Lee didn't seem to be affected by it... or Lee just didn't feel it.

The proctor spoke, "Are you two read?"

Lee nodded enthusiastically, "Yes!"

Gaara just nodded as he uncorked his gourd. Kirito swung his hand down, "Begin!"

The man in black jumped away as Lee disappeared, a bit of sand bursting out of Gaara as Lee reappeared some distance behind Gaara. To anyone else, they couldn't see what Lee was doing, but Jounin like Kakashi, Gai, Asuma and the Hokage could see it.

Lee was merely moving at really high speeds to hit Gaara before he could use his sand. Lee ran after Gaara again and tried to punch him, but a wall of sand rose and blocked it this time.

Lee tried a few more times, with the sand blocking his every strike. He was also careful, as he knew the sand could restrain him if he was not careful. The taijutsu specialist charged forward and punched through another sand wall before he stopped at the end of the arena.

Lee looked up at Gai, "Gai-sensei! Permission to drop them!"

Gai looked at Gaara for a while and nodded, "Very well. Lee! I give you permission to unleash your FLAMES OF YOUTH!"

Lee grinned, "YES SIR!"

The green spandex teen reached to his socks and pulled out two sets of weights. He stared at Gaara, "Gaara-san, with this, I can move without holding back."

Without waiting for a response, Lee threw the weights at Gaara hard. As the weights sailed through the air, Temari huffed, "What can two set of weights do?"

Her expectations were blown away as the weights ripped through Gaara's sand wall and struck the sand user at the shoulder, sending him sprawling to the ground.

The team of Suna ninja all stared at the fallen figure of the Ichibi Jinchurikii in shock. Kankuro spoke, "Gaara was hit..."

Temari and Baki nodded as they prayed for the Jinchurikii to not lose control. Gaara stood up slowly and glared at Lee, "You... hit me?"

Lee readied his stance as Gaara spoke again, "YOU... WILL PROVE ME EXIS-"

He was cut off by a kick to the face from Lee as he reappeared behind Gaara. Lee spoke, "I'm sorry, but I would like to get this started. Otherwise, our FLAMES OF YOUTH WON'T BURN!"

Gai cried manly tears, "Lee!"

The green clad gennin dodged a stream of sand as he proceeded to kick and punch Gaara all over, to the shock of Baki, Temari and Kankuro. The Suna Jounin said, bewildered, "He's moving so fast for Gaara's sand to even react."

Temari nodded, "But, none of his attacks are effective."

They saw it. Although Lee was pushing on, Gaara wasn't too hurt. The sand armor had softened the blows a lot and that helped. Lee knew that.

The boy looked at his master, "Gai-sensei!"

Gai nodded, "Go for it, LEE!"

Lee nodded and roared, "Hachimon! Kaimon! Kai!"

Lee shot forward in a burst of speed and kicked Gaara up. The attack was so fast that Gaara couldn't see or have his sand react fast enough. Then, Lee appeared behind Gaara and roared, "Omote RENGE!"

Lee threw Gaara into the ground as he landed some meters away from him. Lee panted as he regained his balance.

At the stands, Kakashi snapped his head at Gai, "The Omote Renge, you taught him the gates?! Are you crazy?!"

Gai shook his head, "Lee... he was like me. He wanted to become a ninja regardless of not being able to use ninjutsu. I wanted to help."

Kakashi stared sternly at him, "We're not supposed to bring in our personal feelings into this."

Gai nodded, "Indeed. But, look at Kirito. He couldn't use chakra, but he is strong. Lee is the same. The two of them couldn't use chakra, but they had something to prove. That's why I taught Lee."

Kakashi sighed, "Well, since you know the risks better than I do, I guess you do know what you're doing."

As the fight went on, Sakura who had woken up asked, "Kakashi-sensei, what are these gates?"

The Hatake sighed, "The Eight gates. You can say they are the limiters placed on humans. When one opens a gate, they remove the limiters on them. There are a total of eight, with each gate released, the more damage the body sustains, but the more power a person gains. If a Gennin were to open the eighth gate, they can be as strong as a Kage level ninja."

Sakura nodded in awe, "Wow, but then why aren't we taught that?"

Kakashi sighed, "Not everyone can use them. Besides, its too risky. If someone used the Eighth gates, they will die. If you want to be specific, there are probably only nine people who can open all eight gates and live."

Sakura blinked, "Really? Are they strong?"

Kakashi shook his head, "Not necessarily. They just need to fulfill a certain criteria. You already know one of them."

Sasuke asked, "What is this criteria? Who is this person?"

Kakashi sighed, "I can't tell you, but it sets you apart by a huge margin. The criteria is more of a burden than anything."

The cyclops knew Hikari heard him and knew he was talking about the Jinchurikii, but the girl kept silent as Asuna, Sinon and Suguha glanced at her.

With team 9, Neji was shocked. To see Lee who was weak in his eyes to possess that power, it was simply impossible. It defied fate. Tenten was also surprised, but not so much since Lee took after Gai so much.

Kirito was staring at the fight passively. He wasn't surprised by Lee's usage of the gates, after all the first gate was required for the Omote Renge. As they fought, Kirito thought, 'Maybe I should learn the Eight Gates too... Maybe Kakashi or Gai can teach me...'

Back with Lee and Gaara, the sand user was astonished. He was actually getting hit, not enough to draw blood, but it did hurt. He had been on so many B-ranked missions, and in none of them had he been hit. Gaara could hear his 'mother' screaming at the back of his head to kill him.

Gaara gritted his teeth and roared, willing the sand to shoot towards the tired Lee. The taijutsu specialist barely had time to dodge the attack as he rolled off to a side.

Lee cursed, the Omote Renge had done less damage than he expected. Gaara didn't even seem winded from all his attacks. Then everyone noticed something.

As the dust around Gaara cleared, sand started to drop from his body. Temari's eyes widened, "The sand armor broke..."

Kankuro nodded, "This is the first time it happened..."

Gaara growled at Lee, "Not enough... NOT ENOUGH!"

Sand started to swarm over Lee as he struggled to keep up with them. The bowl head kicked, punched and slashed at the sand with kunai in hopes to disperse them long enough for him to escape.

But it was futile as his legs were grabbed by the sand and started to flung him all over the place before throwing him into a wall.

Lee coughed as he stood up. The teen looked at Gaara, 'At this rate, I can't do anything. I will need to use the other gates.'

Lee stood straight as he focused and yelled, "KYUMON, SEIMON, SHOMON, TOMON! KAI!"

After opening the fifth gate, Lee started to turn red as his veins bulged. A huge force pushed against the ground and Gaara's sand as Lee roared.

Kakashi's eyes widened, "Gai, how many gates can he open?"

The man grinned, "Five. He may not be a prodigy, but his hard work is paying off."

Kakashi wanted to retort but seeing it happen was ridiculous, "Hard work my ass. To open five gates at that age is simply ridiculous, he's a prodigy at taijutsu."

The others all looked on as Lee took a stance. The teen spoke, "Here I come, GAARA!"

Lee vanished in a burst of speed and appeared beneath Gaara, completely pass the sand defense. Gaara didn't even had time to voice out the 'w' in 'what' as Lee slammed his foot in Gaara's chin.

The kick sent Gaara into the air as Lee jumped up, kicking him several times into the air. Then, the combo started. Everywhere Gaara went, Lee was there to either kick or punch him away.

To anyone whose eyes weren't used to looking at high speed objects, it would seem like Gaara was flying around like a pinball.

Then, as Gaara's back faced the ground, Lee appeared in front of him and punched him in the gut, sending him towards the ground. But bushy brows wasn't done.

As Gaara flew, a single piece of bandage hung off of Gaara's shirt. His eyes widened as Lee pulled hard, pulling the both of them towards each other.

Lee roared as he kicked and sent a palm strike at Gaara, "URA RENGE!"

The blast was so hard it sent Gaara straight into the floor, creating a huge crater. Then, Lee landed panting as his gates deactivated.

Lee panted, "Did I do it?"

He gasped as his eyes widened as Gaara struggled to stand up, the sand armor collapsing. Gaara growled, "YOU... WILL PROVE MY EXISTENCE!"

Sand swirled to reform Gaara's sand armor and the redhead raised his palm at the tired Lee. Lee tried to run and avoid it. But it was all for naught.

The sand easily caught Lee who couldn't run, then Gaara slowly closed his palm, "Sabaku Kyuu!"

The sand tightened as Lee yelled in pain, his arm and legs breaking and he fell to the ground. Then, Gaara reopened his fist as the sand started to engulf Lee.

He closed his fist, "SABAKU SOSO!"

The sand exploded. But no blood came out. Instead of a dead Lee, standing in front of Gaara was Maito Gai.

Gaara growled, "You... saved him? Why?"

Gai replied, "I have no reason... to watch my student die like that."

He turned to see Lee struggle as he stood up. Gai said sadly, "Lee, its over."

Then everyone saw it. Rock Lee took a stance, but his eyes were empty. He had lost consciousness, but was still taking his stance.

Gai's eyes widened as he remembered everything since he met Lee. The boy's determination to become a ninja who only used taijutsu and prove that he could be a ninja without other jutsu. The man teared up as he embraced the teen, "Lee, you've worked hard."

The teen seemed to feel Gai's presence and went limp, falling into his master's embrace. Gaara tch'd and looked at Kirito who nodded.

The proctor sighed, "Damn all these dramas... Due to outer interference, Rock Lee is disqualified and thus the winner is Sabaku no Gaara."

Gaara just walked up to the stands as the medics took Lee away. As Gai went up to the stands, Yugao spoke, "That kid, he's more than a student to you, right?"

Gai didn't reply as he just looked at the arena. The others decided to stay silent after that match as Kirito rolled the final set of names. Yuuki Asuna vs Akamichi Chouji.

The two Gennin went to the arena and stood in front of each other. Chouji was a bit nervous since it was Asuna he was facing.

Kirito spoke, "You two ready?"

They nodded and he swung his arm down, "Begin!"

Asuna charged and drew her Lambant Light as Chouji charged, drawing his fist back. The girl dodged the punch and spun, kicking him away.

Asuma, on the stands, sighed, "Chouji doesn't want to fight, you can see it in his stance. Ah fuck this."

The son of the third Hokage yelled, to the confusion of the others on the stands, "Chouji! If you win this, I will treat you to an all-you-can-eat buffet!"

The Akamichi's eyes lit up as he roared, "AYE SIR!"

The other sweatdropped and deadpanned at the Akimichi and his Jounin sensei.

Chouji flashed through handseals as Asuna charged at him. The Akmichi yelled, "BAIKA NO JUTSU!"

Instantly, he expanded until he was the size of a huge boulder. Asuna stopped before she could reach him, surprised by the size of it. Then she remembered what came next, "Oh shit."

Chouji roared, "NIKUDAN SENSHA!"

Asuna started to run as the human boulder chased her all around the arena. The girl yelled, "THIS IS SO UNFAIR!"

The others just shook their heads at the scene. Asuna cursed as she saw that there was some distance between Chouji and her. The girl leaped up and ran on the wall until she reached the top of the wall.

The auburn haired girl studied Chouji for a while before she jumped down, charging her rapier with chakra. Her sword pierced through Chouji and she landed on the ground before she quickly leaped away to avoid Chouji from flattening her.

Then, chakra started to leak from Chouji as the boulder shrunk, revealing an exhausted Akmichi who laid there. Asuna blinked as Chouji raised his arm as he panted, "I give up! I can't go on!"

Everyone blinked as Kirito announced, "Winner, Yuuki Asuna."

Asuna blinked as she asked the Akmichi, "Chouji, are you okay?"

The teen grinned tiredly, "Yeah, everytime I use that I get really tired, I just need more food."

Asuna nodded slowly as Chouji slowly got up and went back to the stands. Asuma sighed, "So the only one who got through is Shikamaru. Oh my god."

Kakashi chuckled, "Hey, its their first try, besides, they passed the hard parts."

Asuma facepalmed, "That's the point!"

Before they could continue though, Kirito announced, "Okay, can all the winners come down? We'll be deciding who will be fighting who in the third part."

The winners, and Suguha, all went down to the arena where Kirito and the Hokage stood. Hiruzen spoke, "Nice job, all of you. Now, you will draw numbers to determine who your opponent is for the next round in a month."

Temari asked, "A month?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah. In a month, all of you will particpate in the final part, which similar to this one. Instead of rolling random names though, you will have a predetermined opponent."

Shikamaru asked, "Since its a tournament style, does that mean only one of us will be a Chunnin?"

Hiruzen chuckled, "Ah perish that thought. There will be judges, depending on your performance, whether you win or lose, you can be promoted to Chunnin."

Shikamaru nodded as Kirito brought out a small box. The proctor spoke, "So, get your numbers and we'll see who faces who."

Everyone took their numbers and the matches were revealed.

1)Hikari vs Neji

2)Sinon vs Shikamaru

3)Asuna vs Temari

4)Suguha vs Kankuro

5)Sasuke vs Gaara

6) Winner of match 1 vs Shino

XXX

Done. So I mixed up the matches. So the next chapter... Jiraiya debuts and so on. Review please.


	17. Chapter 17

Hey guys, this is chapter 17. **flo463** , I welcome critics. I see what you meant by pre-shippuden mentality. But see, what I did here, was just lengthened the time in the academy. Their strengths are mostly the same as Gennin, cuz compared to cannon, the training they did is much lesser.

Plus, they went through a lot of events before Shippuden... compared to the events here. In this story, they just studied in the academy with the usual banters, so nothing much happened to boost or help them grow.

As for Kabuto getting info on Kirito, that will come soon. Orochimaru and Danzo too. Thanks for pointing out my mistakes, I'll try to do better. And just to point out, in cannon, the first swordsman Naruto faced is Zabuza, but he is not the first swordsman. Btw, I'm sorry if it lacks character development, I'm still learning how to properly do it.

 **Warmaster** **Koss** , thanks man. I see what you meant. Don't worry, I will fix that.

So yeah. Lets go.

XXX

After receiving their matches, everyone left the forest. Now, Hikari, Kirito, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon were walking around.

The blonde grumbled, "Bakakashi-sensei, he just said he'd send someone above him to train me... but he didn't say who and just left."

Asuna sighed, "What did you expect? Its Kakashi-sensei, he's a pervert and a lazy creepy old man."

Suguha giggled, "Well, if Kakashi-sensei says its someone above him, I think it's worth a try. Besides, I don't think Yugao-sensei can train all three of us for the whole month."

Kirito suggested, "Then, why don't you train with your summons?"

Sinon blinked, "That's... not a bad idea..."

Suguha nodded, "Yeah. If I remember correctly, each summon has a sage mode. I wonder if we can learn that."

Asuna nodded, "That's not a bad idea. I think I'll ask the whales."

Suguha and Sinon both nodded in agreement as Hikari sighed, "Then I'll go see who this mysterious trainer is..."

Kirito nodded before he sighed, "Then, you'll all be gone for a month..."

The girls giggled at his reaction. Suguha spoke, "Well, Hikari-chan is going to be in the village, right?"

Hikari shrugged, "I have no idea. Maybe. I'll have to see who this mystery guy is. So you three will be going to your summons' realms?"

Asuna nodded, "Probably. I mean Steiner-sama (Orca summon boss) did say I could train there."

Suguha and Sinon nodded as the archer said, "Me too, the cats did say they wanted to me to learn their arts."

Kirito nodded, "Fine."

Then, as they passed the hotsprings, they saw a white haired man sitting by the walls of the hotsprings, giggling in a disturbing way while jotting down notes.

Sinon said with a tick mark, "Hey, he's peeping... isn't he?"

Asuna nodded, smiling dangerously, "Indeed he is."

Suguha was also smiling dangerously, "Shall we educate him some manners?"

Hikari nodded, also smiling dangerously, "Indeed, we shall."

Hikari conjured up some chains in her left hand and made a Chidori in her right palm. Asuna drew her rapier as it glowed while Suguha drew her katana which glowed. Sinon also drew her bow and arrow as the arrow head glowed.

Then, the white haired man blinked as he felt something wrap around his waist. The man commented, "This feels... familiar."

He looked down and saw chains, more specifically, chakra chains, chains he would never forget. The man's eyes widened before he was suddenly pulled backwards as he slammed onto the ground.

The man groaned as he opened his eyes to see four girls glaring at him. The man asked, knowing full well what and why they did that, "Umm, ladies, is there something wrong?"

Asuna glared at him as she drew her rapier, Suguha drawing her katana, Sinon drawing her bow and arrow while Hikari raised her Chidori. The man's eyes widened, "Oh shit."

After a while, the man laid on the ground smoking as he groaned. Asuna, Hikari, Suguha and Sinon all brandished their weapons as they put them away.

The man groaned, "To think me, the great Jiraiya-sama, manhandled by four girls."

Kirito sighed, "No matter who you are, hell hath no fury over women scorn."

The man nodded as he stood up as if nothing happened, to the surprise of the girls. The man bit his thumb and smear his palm with blood, flashed through handsigns and slammed his palm onto the ground.

The man announced as he stood on top of a huge toad, dancing as he made a pose, "Behold! The Sage of Mt Myoboku, the trainer of the Fourth Hokage, charmer of women, the Toad Sannin, Jiraiya-sama!"

Kirito just deadpanned at him, "So you're the one who writes that shit people call Icha-icha."

The girls just glared at Jiraiya at that. The Sannin stared at the teen, "Shit? Boy, you know nothing of literature, have you even read any of them? Have you savoured the text? Have you?"

Kirito just stared at him, "Why would I need porn? Ya know what? Let's just drop this. You said you trained the Yondaime Hokage, right?"

Jiraiya nodded, "Indeed I did."

Hikari glared at him, "Then, do you know who I am?"

Jiraiya looked at the girl as his eyes widened, "Blonde hair, whisker marks. That face... Hikari?"

The blonde nodded, "Yes, I'm curious though, did you know of me?"

Jiraiya nodded, "I heard bits from Sarutobi-sensei. Wait, Kakashi said something about training someone, that wouldn't be you, right?"

Hikari blinked, "What?"

Jiraiya nodded, "Earlier, Kakashi sent me a message about training his student for him, I was going to ignore him, but, come to think of it, you're one of them, right?"

Hikari nodded, "Yes, but how did you know?"

Jiraiya laughed, "I have the best spy network in the Elemental Nations, girl, I know a lot of things."

Kirito nodded, "Hikari-chan, I guess that settles it. You four have your plans."

Hikari looked at him, she knew of his feats and who Jiraiya was. Getting him to train her was really a rare chance, especially when he trained her father.

She looked at Asuna, Sinon and Suguha. Asuna spoke, "Its your choice, besides, having a Sannin train you is a really rare chance."

Suguha nodded, "Yeah, I mean he trained your father and all those things."

The Uzumaki nodded and turned to Jiraiya as she asked, "Then, you will train me?"

Jiraiya nodded, "Of course. I was busy with my spy network all these years, and I never really came back to the village long enough to check on you, just bits from Sarutobi-sensei, I intend to make up for it."

Hikari had gone through the emotional shit a while ago and frankly she didn't care now. The blonde sighed and nodded, "Fine. So, what will you teach me?"

Jiraiy hmm'd, "You learned the Rasengan and Chidori from Kakashi, right? How about summoning toads?"

Hikari shook her head, "I already have a contract with dragons."

Jiraiya nodded, "What about using your furry friends chakra?"

Hikari blinked, "Umm, not really..."

Jiraiy nodded, "Good, then I'll train you on using your extra chakra and polish up everything you have. We'll see where it takes us. We'll start tomorrow, is that fine?"

Hikari nodded, "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow then."

She turned to see her family looking at her, "What?"

Kirito sighed, "Just that you settled your training plans so fast."

Asuna nodded, "I guess we'll also need to ask our summons to let us train."

Sinon and Suguha nodded. Hikari sighed, "Come on, let's go home."

Later that day, Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and Hikari were in the Hokage's office. Hikari asked, "So, Hokage-sama, since I know who my parents were, I should have some inheritance, right?"

Hiruzen nodded, "Indeed you do, I was wondering when you'd ask."

Asuna spoke, "Then, where is it?"

Hiruzen nodded, "Patience."

He took out a folder from his desk and placed it on the table, "This contains your parents' bank accounts and everything they own. Or at least, the ones they gave me. They probably have more in the compound. I gave the key in a file to Kirito in case I didn't make it."

Suguha blinked as she looked at Kirito, "Wait, you did?"

Kirito blinked several times before his eyes widened, "OH! I forgot!"

He quickly went through his coat and took out a similar file. Hikari sighed, "So, that contains the key to my parents' house?"

Hiruzen chuckled, "Oh its more than a house. But I think its better you see for yourself."

Hikari nodded before she asked, "So, the key to my parents' house and their bank accounts. The rest are in the house?"

Hiruzen nodded, "Yeah, they also have letters for you in the files, something they gave me before they passed. Just to tell you though, the directions to the compound is in the file."

Hikari nodded and she turned, "Thank you, Hokage-sama. We'll go look at the compound."

The others bowed as they left. As the five of them left, Hiruzen spoke, "So, what do you think, Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya revealed himself from the corner of the office, "What else? I've met them earlier today. I have to make up for the time I missed with my goddaughter after all. Plus, they beat me up quite badly."

Hiruzen chuckled, "Indeed."

Jiraiya then turned, "Well, I'm gonna go do some research. Expect the next book in a week."

Hiruzen chuckled as his student left. Then the Hokage thought, 'Orochimaru is definitely planning an invasion, but surprisingly, where's Danzo?'

The old warhawk, since the Chunnin Exams started, was nowhere to be seen. But then, Hiruzen didn't really care much now, Danzo could rot in hell for all he cared.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was walking in the village, 'Hmm, I asked Jiraiya-sama to help me teach Hikari, so I guess I could teach Sasuke. Should I teach him the Chidori?'

A while later, the group of five stood in front of a house. Kirito blinked, "When Hokage-sama said compound, I thought he'd mean a landed compound like the Hyuga compound or the Uchiha compound."

Hikari sighed, "Maybe there's something in there, I mean my mother was an expert with seals."

Asuna nodded, "Besides, this can fit around a dozen people."

Hikari spoke, "Well, if you guys want to, we can move in once we clean this place up. I don't mind our apartment, but it wouldn't be bad for a larger house."

The girls nodded as Sinon spoke, "Come on, let's go in then."

They entered the house and spent the afternoon exploring the house. Turns out Hiruzen called it a compound due to the complex seals that made the house more bigger than it seemed.

The house was standard, with the suitable amount of the rooms and space. But when they reached some of the rooms with seals of it, such as one with 'Training ground' on it, it lead to an open training ground that was not in the village, but somewhere outside the village.

The compound had a training ground that could let them train in almost anything, a library that put the Konoha library and the Forbidden scroll to shame, an onsen, a dozen rooms, a garden, a large kitchen, a fuinjutsu office and several other stuff. They even had a silencing seal for the whole house, several defense seals and a seal that could let the house withstand several S-rank jutsu.

It was decided, to the annoyance of the girls, that Kirito would move their stuff from the apartment to the compound after Hikari keyed in Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and her chakra signature to the safety system to let them in and out easily.

Two days later, Asuna stood on an island, surrouded by orca swimming in the sea. The girl faced a huge orca, "Thank you, Steiner-sama."

The huge whale smiled, "Think nothing of it, if anything, its a huge step for you as our summoner and us as summons. Its been ages since someone learned our arts."

Asuna nodded as her training started.

With Sinon, she stood in a forest with many cats in front of her. A particularly huge black cat stared at her, "Sinon, we will now begin your training, I hope you can keep up."

The archer grinned, "Of course I will, I won't let you down, Kuroka-sama."

The cat stood up and approached her summoner, ready to begin their training. The cat boss spoke, "So, we'll start with..."

With Suguha, she was on top of a mountain. The girl looked at a massive eagle who spoke, "Suguha, I'm happy you accepted to learn our arts."

Suguha smiled, "No, thank you for allowing me to learn them, Raker-sama."

The boss summon of the eagles, Raker nodded, "It is a necessary step for you to advance as our summoner. The toads, snakes and slugs may not like to train others in the sage arts, but we of the Uzumaki clan summons are different."

Suguha nodded as the eagle stood up. The eagle spoke, "Come, let us begin. You have one month in the human world, I will make sure you master our arts by then."

Suguha nodded as she followed the hawk to train.

Meanwhile, Hikari stood in front of Jiraiya in one of the more secluded training grounds. Jiraiya spoke, "So, before we begin, I'd like you to sign the Toad summoning scroll."

Hikari replied, "No. I don't need it."

Jiraiya gaped, "Girl, many people would kill to sign the scroll. Besides, your father used it."

Hikari just stared at the pervert, "I'm not many people. And I'm not my father. Besides, I already have the Uzumaki clan dragon summons."

Jiraiya sighed, "Fine. So how's the Rasengan?"

Hikari raised her palm as chakra swirled in it, forming a rough sphere. Jiraiya nodded, "Not bad, you still need to work on the rotation and compression. Let's see your power."

Jiraiya made his own Rasengan and put some distance between them. Hikari nodded as they both charged and clashed the two spheres of destruction.

After that, Jiraiya nodded, "The power is alright. Just work on your compression and rotation, then your Rasengan will be good."

Hikari nodded, "Okay, so what's next?"

Jiraiya nodded, "We need to let you tap into the Kyuubi's seal. I think we should start with meditation."

Hikari nodded and sat down, Jiraiya doing the same. The Sannin started, "Close your eyes, cut everything out and focus, like how you unlocked your chakra."

Hikari did just that as Jiraiya continued, "Reach deeper down, further than your own chakra."

The blonde nodded as she reached down, then she felt the ground change. Instead of the grass she was sitting on, she was sitting on a concrete floor, more specifically with water on it.

Hikari blinked, "Where am I?"

She looked around before she felt it, the malicious chakra. Hikari followed it until she came to face a huge cage with the kanji for seal on it.

Then two eyes appeared in the cage. A deep voice spoke, "So, my host finally comes in."

Hikari was slightly nervous but didn't show, "Are you, the Kyuubi?"

The voice chuckled, "Indeed I am. Come closer..."

Hikari blinked and asked warily, "Why?"

She slowly walked forward before she jumped back as two huge claws slammed against the bars. The Kyuubi growled, "You have no idea how much I want to kill you, girl."

Hikari glared at the bijuu, "Why? I did nothing to you."

The Kyuubi chuckled darkly, "Nothing? You kept me locked for sixteen, almost seventeen years. I've been locked in Uzumaki women for more than a century. From that bitch Mito, to your mother and you."

Hikari glared at him, "It's not my fault you got sealed."

The Kyuubi stared at her, "No? You're a human, its because of humans I got sealed. I was always fine with humans, but then that bastard Madara came and used me as a weapon, and then shit started. I trusted you humans, but you used me as a weapon, do you know how that feels?"

Hikari looked down, "I do know, maybe not on your level, but I know how that feels."

The Kyuubi was taken aback by her response. He knew some parts of his host's life, though he never really cared enough to pay attention. The bijuu didn't sense any deception, only sadness and understanding.

He decided to use his limited access to his host's mind to look into her memories. The Kyuubi was slightly surprised by what transpired throughout her life and decided the girl was a bit different.

He sighed, "I guess you do. So, what do you want?"

Hikari blinked, the Kyuubi's tone lightened a bit, "Erm, what?"

The beast sighed, "You're here for some reason, what do you want?"

Hikari responded, "Erm, I was thinking of seeing if there was a way to use your chakra."

The Kyuubi hmph'd, "Shoulda known. But then again, you didn't know you could use my chakra, nor did you know we could communicate, it was only because of that frog and that kid from the Underworld, that you came here, so I won't blame you."

The Kyuubi stared at the girl straight in the eye, "Fine. I'll make a deal with you. I'll let you use up to three tails worth of chakra everytime you draw on my powers, no drawbacks, no insanity, no damage done to your body unlike the last time I lent you my chakra."

Hikari blinked, "Last time?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "Yes, remember the fight on the bridge? You have some imagination, thinking your mate would die in that manner."

The Uzumaki blinked as it clicked, "That voice was you?"

The bijuu huffed, "Who else? The tooth fairy? Of course it was me. Anyways, as I said, no drawbacks, in exchange, you loosen my seal."

Hikari blinked, "Loosen the seal?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "Yes. Because of your early experiences before you met the four of those kids, your mindscape was shaped in a bad way, a sewer more specifically. It was dark in the beginning, but now it's bright a bit. If you loosen the seal, I can change the scenery a bit and feel stuff from the outside."

Hikari nodded, those weren't bad terms, "Feel stuff from outside?"

The bijuu nodded, "Yes. By loosening the seal, I can increase the chakra I can lend you, and by extension, heal you faster. Also, it will increase my control over the mindscape so I can change the scenery. Plus, it allows me to sync with your nerves to let me see, hear, taste and feel whatever you feel."

Hikari looked at the bijuu, "You're... a male, right?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "I have no gender, but my mentality is that of a male, yes. Why?"

The Uzumaki blushed slightly before she glared at the bijuu. The Kyuubi suddenly felt fear creep into his mind as the girl's hair started to rise. Hikari growled, "You're asking me, to share my sense of sight and touch to you. YOU FUCKING PERVERT!"

Suddenly, the Kyuubi felt the cage shrink as it pushed against him. The bijuu quickly apologised, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't know!"

Hikari huffed as she released her hold on the cage, "You better think before you say anything. I belong to Kirito-kun, no one else."

The Kyuubi sighed, "Fine. You can cut off our link whenever you want. I have no interest in your body or your activities with your mate."

Hikari nodded, "Anything else?"

The Kyuubi shrugged, "Besides everything I told you, I believe loosening the seal can also let me talk to you without you entering the seal."

Hikari nodded, "By the way, can you alter my hair?"

The Kyuubi raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Hikari looked her hair, "I mean, since I'm giving you some power over my mindscape, can you activate my recessive Uzumaki genes so that the ends of my hair is red?"

The Kyuubi pondered a while, "If you allow me to, yes, theoretically I can."

Hikari nodded before she asked, "By the way, why are you so willing?"

The Kyuubi froze. He thought about it, 'Why am I helping her?'

Then he realized it, 'I see. Her memories, even if it was for a bit, it reminded me of how the humans treated me. She is a human, but she was treated in a similar manner before those kids met her.'

The Kyuubi had long broken out of the genjutsu Madara placed upon him. While he harbored hatred for the humans, he wasn't blind. The bijuu replied, "I just felt like it. I'm not getting nothing out of this, you know?"

Hikari then asked, "So, how do we loosen the seal?"

The Kyuubi pondered a bit, "Hmm, by theory, it should respond to you here. The seal on the cage is a representation of the real seal. If you fold the corners of the papers, I think it should work."

The girl nodded and walked to the cage, reaching up as the seal came down to her level. Hikari pulled on the paper lightly on all four sides as they loosened a bit, but held firm from tearing off.

The girl commented, "This should do?"

The Kyuubi nodded as he focused, the sewer changing into a lush green plain. Though he was still bounded by large metal pillars around him.

Hikari marvelled at the sight, "Wow, how did you do this?"

The Kyuubi huffed, "I'm the Kyuubi. I have lived far longer than you have. This is one of the few places I liked. Besides, can you change the representation of the seal?"

Hikari blinked before she focused. The pillars shrunk before they flew towards the Kyuubi's neck, forming a loose but strong collar.

The bijuu growled, "A collar, seriously,"

Hikari giggled, "It was the first thing that came to mind. I mean, do you have any suggestions?"

The Kyuubi sighed. The seal prevented him from actively manipulating Hikari's mind and chakra. Previously the bars held him away, but now the collar should do the same, but he would have free reign over his actions in the plains. That was acceptable.

The bijuu spoke, "Fine. As per our agreement, I will allow you to use three tails of my chakra everytime you choose to use it. In exchange, I am linked to your senses to let me feel the outside world, though you can cut me off for privacy."

Hikari nodded, "Thank you. By the way, what's your name?"

The Kyuubi, for a second time, was taken aback by the girl, "What do you mean?"

Hikari smiled, "I mean, the Kyuubi is just a title, right?"

The bijuu growled, "I have no name. Even if I did, a fleshbag like you are not worthy of it."

Hikari frowned, "And here I thought we were getting along nicely."

The Kyuubi spoke, "You have bothered me long enough, its time you leave."

Hikari sighed, "Fine. I'll go, but I'll be back. You don't seem evil or anything like what the books say, your chakra is dark, but that's it. See you next time, Kyuubi."

The girl then vanished from her mindscape. The bijuu laid down on the grass and growled softly, 'Stupid girl.'

As he slept, for the first time in centuries, he dreamt of his father and his family, everything that happened before Indra and Asura went their seperate ways.

Back in the real world, Hikari opened her eyes to see Jiraiya jotting down notes and giggling. The girl grew a tick mark and slammed her fist into the unsuspecting man's face, sending him across the field into a tree.

Hikari glared at him, "You don't learn, do you?"

Jiraiya laughed as he stood up, "Sorry kid, but I couldn't help it. You are exactly like your mother. Besides, think of the men who read my work, it is an honor."

Hikari huffed, "Honor my ass."

Jiraiya grinned, "Your fine ass indeed."

The girl facepalmed, "You know what? Let's just drop it. So what are we doing next? I got permission to use up to three tails worth of chakra without any side effects."

Jiraiya pondered a while, "I heard from Sarutobi-sensei you are learning the Uzumaki clan sealing techniques, how far are you?"

Hikari nodded and replied, "I'm almost done with the fifth volume."

Jiraiya nodded, "Good, then we'll continue from there. By the end of this month, I'll have you be as strong as a high Jounin."

Meanwhile, Kirito was in Kayaba's private space. The master had given him permission to train there since Kayaba didn't really use the place much.

Kirito had an idea for a new spell, after seeing everyone getting stronger constantly. The swordsman say in front of the list of words and chants as he thought of his ideas.

The teen nodded and he stood up and started to focus, 'Release my chakra, enchant my body...'

Two spheres started to form below his stretched palms. Then, right before he could finish them, they exploded. The smoke cleared to reveal a burnt Kirito who coughed out smoke.

The young man sighed, "I really need to work on focusing my chakra and not make it blow up."

He sat down and went back to planning the spell, deciding to move their stuff to the compound later on.

With Kakashi, he looked at Sasuke as his student focused on completing the steps for elemental jutsu. The cyclops was a bit reluctant, but decided to teach Sasuke the Chidori to beat Gaara.

Speaking of Gaara, the Sabaku siblings just worked on refining their techniques, believing that they were enough.

As for Shikamaru, under the insistence of his parents, was learning new jutsu and expanding his chakra reserves.

Shino, meanwhile, was training with his father to expand his arsenal with his kikaichu.

Meanwhile, Kabuto was going through the library. The spy decided that before seeking info actively outside, maybe he could find something about Kirito. The fact that he defeated Zabuza was no small feat, and if not careful, the teen could prove to be a threat.

The spy sighed as he closed the books and headed out for the next best thing, the cafés where most women gossip.

XXX

Done. Review please. So we have some idea how the training is going. Yes, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha will get sage modes. They will look like the ALO avatars. As for Hikari, since no toads, any suggestions for her sage mode appearance? Either have the Kyuubi influence it and give her fox ears and tails or have her get the dragon appearances? Or do both?

Speaking of the Kyuubi, I wanted to change his attitude a bit. In cannon, it took Naruto years to convince him. Here, since Kurama has access to Hikari's memories, to some extent, he can see how she lived before she met Kirito and co. Regardless being a bijuu, Kurama still has humanity in him. So I wanted to show that part.

So yeah, till the next chapter.


	18. Chapter 18

Hey guys, so this is the 18th chapter. I know I didn't do quite well for some parts of the story, but I'm still learning, so if there are any mistakes, please point them out. I'll try my best to correct those and avoid them in future chapters.

 **Azaira,** well, its just used in the beginning. I mean we all know what really happened, but in the beginning, in the story, none of the characters really knew what happened. I know I messed up with the baby part, its false, I know. I don't have any excuses for that. As for Kirito knowing the requirements, remember, I had Kayaba teach Kirito almost everything he knew, that includes the requirements for a Jinchurikii. I know I messed quite a lot, but I'm still learning. So all I can say is just bear with me.

And just so I make this clear. Hikari's sage mode or whatever I'm calling it, is not decided yet as of this chapter. I'm all open for suggestions.

Anyways, let's start.

XXX

A week later, Kirito had finished moving everything from their apartment to the Namikaze compound, or whatever they called it. The blacksmith thanked the gods for the invention of levitation magic he had learned from one of Kayaba's spell lists.

Asuna, Suguha and Sinon were still in their summons' realms, though they did send a small summon to tell him that they were staying there for most of the month.

As for Hikari, she did come home to sleep, but even then, she was always dead tired when she came back and it was always in the evening, so Kirito did most of the work.

Now, it was 8pm. Kirito, as usual, was cooking dinner, but this time only for two and in the compound instead of their apartment. Hikari sighed, "It feels kinda lonely, with just you and me."

Kirito chuckled as he prepared the broth for the ramen, "Well, at least that gives us time alone. But seriously, I thought you'd stay with Jiraiya for the month."

Hikari seemed offended, "And leave you alone while I spend time with a perverted old man? Hell no. All he'd do is use me as his so-called research."

Kirito chuckled as he prepared the meat, "Well, at least you're getting training from a Sannin."

Hikari nodded before Kirito asked, "By the way, you seen the library yet?"

The girl shook her head, "I've been so busy training, I haven't had the time. Besides, everytime I come back, I'm already tired as hell."

Kirito nodded, "I see. By the way, you looked through the file yet?"

Hikari blinked, "I forgot about it."

The swordsman chuckled as the girl quickly went to get the file in her room. After a minute, the girl came back with a file.

As she placed the file on the table, Kirito commented, "By the way, you dyed the ends of your hair?"

Hikari blinked and looked at the ends of her hair, which were red. The girl nodded, "Yeah, I asked the Kyuubi to change the ends of my hair."

Kirito nodded, "It actually makes you look better."

Hikari smiled, "Thanks, so, lets see what the file's got."

The blonde (for simplicity's sake I'll just continue referring to Hikari as a blonde... which she still is) opened the file and found her birth certificate and a slip about Minato and Kushina's will for Hikari to inherit their wealth, which included money, land, jutsu and so on.

The two's eyes widened in shock as they saw the amount of money and wealth Hikari had inherited. Kirito spoke in awe, "Holy shiet... so many zeroes..."

Hikari nodded, "My parents were rich... we're rich..."

After staring at the money for several seconds, Hikari shook her head and spoke, "Okay, let's see what else is in here..."

The girl flipped through the file and found two pieces of paper. Hikari picked them up and blinked in suprise, "These... are letters?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, go on, read it."

Hikari unfolded the first paper and read,

 _Hikari, my dear daughter,_

 _If you're reading this, then Kushina and I are gone, most probably dead. I wrote this just in case anything happened, and gave it to Sandaime-sama to give it to you._

 _As stated in the file, you will inherit all our wealth, including Jutsu, money, property and land. This includes the Rasengan and the Hiraishin if you haven't learned them. They are in the deepest compartment of the library, in a vault locked by a blood seal._

 _Most of the inheritance are already stated in the file, so I'll skip them. If you're reading this, then you probably don't know us personally, so even if we're dead, Kushina and I will always love you, we will always be watching over you._

 _But I'm sure your godparents are taking care of you, right? Jiraiya-sensei and Tsunade were pretty excited when we told them they were going to be your godparents._

 _Anyways, I don't think I'll make this too long. Just remember to stay healthy, and safe. And stay away from boys, I don't want grandchildren so soon._

 _Love,_

 _Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage,_

 _Your father._

Hikari finished reading and Kirito sighed, "I guess this was written before the Kyuubi attack."

Hikari nodded, but she was more concerned about another thing Minato mentioned in the letter, "Jiraiya and Tsunade... are my godparents?"

Kirito blinked and saw that the blonde had a calm angry face. He asked, "Ermm, Hikari-chan, are you okay?"

Hikari smiled sweetly, but Kirito knew she was pissed, "I'm okay, I am just gonna rip that dirty old pervert to a thousand pieces.

The swordsman chuckled, "Well, just don't go too overboard, I mean you still need him to train you right?"

Hikari nodded before she picked up the second letter. This time, it was from her mother.

 _Hikari, my daughter,_

 _By now, Minato and I are probably dead, I mean, this letter WAS to be given to you in case anything happened to us... Or if we died before you knew us._

 _Anyways, I'm not gonna go through with the inheritance and stuff. Minato-kun has that covered. But just in case, you should go check Uzushiogakure's ruins. I checked it once, but then I didn't really bothered to go back. I might have missed several stuff, they might be useful to you._

 _I don't think I need to tell you, but stay safe, stay healthy, eat healthy and all those things. Jiraiya and Tsunade-sensei would have probably made sure of that. Mikoto too, if you haven't met her._

 _So yeah, I guess that's about it. If you want to know more, you can get my diary in my nightstand. Normally I wouldn't let you look at it, but if you're reading this, then I might as well let you read that too. XDXD_

 _Hope you find a nice boyfriend, maybe Mikoto-chan's son Sasuke. Hehe, anyways, know that we will be watching over you. I hope you'll learn fuinjutsu too, its our blood as Uzumaki._

 _That's about it. So yeah, I love you._

 _Your mother, the one and only,_

 _Uzumaki Kushina._

After reading it, Hikari was surprised, "My mom was friends with Sasuke's mom?"

Kirito spoke, "Eh if you think about it it wouldn't be weird. I mean they both died before we know about them, and Sasuke doesn't know who your parents are. Hell, who knows what kinda stuff they did last time? "

Hikari nodded, "I guess so. But if my mom knew what Sasuke is like now, she'd think thrice before suggesting I date him."

Kirito chuckled as he placed the two bowls of ramen on the table, "Come on, the food's ready. You can worry about those and beat Jiraiya up tomorrow."

The girl nodded and put down the letters as she went to the table to eat.

The next day, Hikari went to the usual training area where Jiraiya was waiting as Kirito went to his shop. The Sannin greeted, "Hey, so are you rea-"

He was cut off by a torrent of chains that shot towards him as he jumped away, dodging the spiked chains. Jiraiya asked, "Hikari?"

The girl glared at him as she conjured up a Chidori in her left hand and made a Rasengan in her right hand. Normally Jiraiya would have been impressed or shocked, but he knew Hikari was a Jinchurikii and an Uzumaki, plus the fact that she looked very pissed helped.

Jiraiya backed away, very intimidated by the look in her eyes as he was reminded of Kushina whenever she unleashed her rage on him.

Then the girl charged. Jiraiya quickly jumped back to avoid more chains as Hikari charged. The man landed and found that he could not move. The Sannin looked down anf saw chains holding his legs in place.

He looked back at Hikari to see her right in front of himself. Jiraiya quickly reinforced his body with all the chakra he could, "Ah shit..."

The girl thrust both jutsu at the Sannin as a huge explosion erupted in the training fields.

After the dust cleared, Jiraiya groaned as he got up from the small crater. The man looked at the girl, "So, what did I do to earn that?"

Hikari huffed, "What do you think, godfather?"

Jiraiya sighed, "So you found out..."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Jiraiya knew she was going to find out sooner or later. The Sannin spoke, "I won't bullshit you with excuses. I was and still am a coward. I convinced myself that the spy network was more important to keep you safe instead of being there for you."

Hikari raised her hand, "I've been through this with Hokage-sama and Kakashi-sensei, so just save it. But just so we make it clear, you and Tsunade may have been named my godparents, but you two sure as hell aren't."

Jiraiya nodded, "Fine, but for Tsunade... Its not actually her fault. We... kinda lied to her."

Hikari felt a shitstorm coming, but she asked, "What do you mean?"

Jiraiya was really nervous, if he wasn't careful, he might have a three-tailed enraged jinchurikii and a black swordsman on his ass. The sannin spoke, "Well, we kinda told Tsunade that you were dead. She was actually willing to come back to look after you."

Hikari had a dark look in her eyes, "So, if you didn't lie to Tsunade, she would have returned to the village and take care of me?"

Jiraiya was sweating profusely, "Umm, yes?"

The girl spoke again, "And just to confirm, Hokage-sama and the elders know, right?"

Jiraiya could only nod as a Chidori burst to life in Hikari's right hand. The girl spoke coldly, "Go to hell."

After that, Jiraiya's screams could be heard through out the village.

With Kirito in his shop, the teen chuckled as he heard the screams. One of his customers, a random Gennin asked, "Umm, Kirito-san, did you hear that?"

The blacksmith nodded, "Yeah, the whole village probably did."

The gennin asked, "Should we be worried?"

Kirito chuckled, "Don't worry about it. Hikari-chan is just handing someone what he deserves. So, you need a set of the standard equipment, right?"

The Gennin nodded as Kirito gathered the items. The blacksmith smiled, "That's 5000 ryo. Thank you very much."

The gennin gave him the money as he took the equipment and left the shop.

In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen shivered as he was talking to Koharu and Homura. The elders also felt it as Homura spoke, "You two felt it, didn't you?"

Koharu nodded, paling a bit, "Kushina's rage..."

Hiruzen was also scared, "We are doomed. I just hope Hikari holds back."

The two elders nodded as the Anbu in hiding all thought, 'If what we heard just now was Jiraiya-sama screaming, then I don't think she'll hold back.'

A few moments later, Jiraiya groaned as he woke up. He sat up and saw Hikari burning something. His eyes widened as he recognized them.

The author of Icha-icha quickly rushed over, but Hikari was just finishing her job in burning all his notes. The Sannin knelt down by the fire, "NO!!! My precious notes!!!"

He snapped his head to his goddaughter, "What did I ever do to you?!"

Hikari glared at him, "You left me in the village for more than a decade."

Jiraiya winced, "Okay, I'm sorry. I really am... please, just let me atone for my sins."

Hikari hmph'd, "Whatever... let's get started. We've wasted enough time."

Jiraiya nodded before he asked, "By the way, since your... friends are training with their summons, don't you want to do that as well?"

Hikari shrugged, "Depends. If we can finish training with you before the month ends, then I guess I can see if I can train there."

Jiraiya nodded as they started training.

Meanwhile, in the realm of the eagle summons. Suguha was sitting cross legged on a platform. More importantly, she was sitting on a platform on top of the tip of a spike from the top of the mountain.

A huge eagle, Raker the boss summon, rested near her and nodded. The girl was coming along nicely. In just two days, she was close to mastering the first step. If she kept the pace up, Suguha could learn the sage mode in half a month. Then they could focus on honing her skills with that mode and maybe teach her some of their skills.

The eagle chuckled when the girl suddenly lost balance and fell onto the ground, grumbling as she got up.

With Suguha, the girl grumbled as she used wind chakra to help place her on the platform after stabilising the platform on the tip. Raker had actually made her think of a way to get herself on the platform by herself, without making it fall off the tip.

Suguha had spent the first four hours with just that before she found out the correct way. Then she spent another four hours trying to solve how she could balance herself.

That was the first day. Now, Suguha was almost done with balancing herself. The goal of the exercise was to have her balance herself with minimum support from the ground for at least twenty minutes. Now, she was progressing nicely.

Suguha didn't mind staying there. The place was beautiful, the air and atmosphere wasn't poluted like the village was, which wasn't too poluted. Plus the summons also treated her nicely. Hell, even the food was nice, even if she missed Kirito's cooking already.

Although that morning, one of the eagles gave her a plate of earth worms, which was a prank, they normally ate meat, like squirrels, rabbits and fish. They could even find ragout rabbits running around below the mountain, and Raker had promised her if she completed her sage training, they'd treat her to some of the meat.

Now, Suguha focused again as she balanced herself on the platform, easing her breathing as the platform became stable.

Raker nodded in approval as Suguha dropped after 18 minutes.

In the realm of the cat summons, Sinon was sittint cross legged in the middle of the forest, with her bow and an arrow on her lap.

The training she was doing was to find the target without seeing it, just hearing it and smelling it. The cats had tied a target onto their back that was around a meter above the ground, wearing bells of different frequencies and small packs that emitted a certain smell.

Sinon's part was to identify which cat was which and shoot down the target on the cats. The girl reached for her bow as she zero'ed in on the target.

Then, as fast as a snake, Sinon drew her bow and notched the arrow, quickly releasing it as it shot through the air onto one of the targets.

Shirone, who was watching over her, giggled, "Wrong one, though that was pretty close. The bell was very similar and the smell was a bit off. Keep up."

Sinon nodded as she continued her training. The girl had found the forest to be quite calming. The cats, while playful, treated her well.

They knew of her role as an archer, so they mostly focused on her honing her skills as an archer while mildly focusing on close ranged combat, which primarily relied on taijutsu and using a dagger or kunai.

As for Asuna, she normally stayed on the island. There was a small cave with the basic supplies and equipment for her, so it was fine.

Now, Asuna was sitting on the water. Countless orcas were circling her as the girl concentrated on her task. She was tasked to send her chakra as far as she could in every direction to connect with the summons.

This was to establish a connection between her and the summons, as well as connect her to the ocean. By connecting her to both of these, it would help her gather nature chakra.

Steiner, the boss summon, watched Asuna focus below the water. The boss summon was actually impressed. The whale had went down quite deep, and still felt the connection with Asuna.

She then went deeper, and could still feel the connection, even if it was weak. If it went on, she believed Asuna could master their arts by the end of the month.

The orca chuckled in approval as the girl continued her training.

Meanwhile, back in the village, Kabuto was going through hell. While gathering information in a cafe or bar was common, the silver haired man cursed himself for choosing the place he was in.

Instead of a standard bar or cafe, he had accidentally entered a cafe where the ladies were gossiping, and he was caught in the middle of it.

Now, Kabuto was stuck at a table with several housewives who were gossiping. When Kabuto asked anything or tried to bring the topic to Kirito or anyone close to him, the women would always find a way to change the topic to some random shit.

One of them asked, "By the way, Kabuto-kun, are you free later?"

The man blinked, "Umm, yes?"

The women smiled as the man was dragged away where they continued to gossip about irrelevant things while buying groceries, which Kabuto had to carry.

As he was dragged away, while trying hard not to cry from the constant nagging from the women, he thought, 'Orochimaru-sama, help me!'

In Otogakure, the Snake Sannin was planning his attack on Konoha. The Kazekage had been killed, so all he needed to do was make a Kazekage robe for himself.

As he looked at the data, Orochimaru suddenly sneezed, "Weird... someone must be talking about me. Eh, whatever."

The snake sannin then continued planning, blissfully unaware of the hell his subordinate was going through.

In one of the training fields, Sasuke was focusing his chakra, trying to convert it into the Chidori. Kakashi sighed, "Take it slow. If you force it, you won't even manage to make a bolt. Hikari took several weeks to learn it, plus, it's an A-ranked jutsu, more importantly my personal jutsu."

Sasuke sighed as he nodded and stood up. Kakashi nodded, "Before you continue with that, we'll need to build up your speed and stamina. At least at Lee's level with his weights on, otherwise you won't even reach Gaara."

Sasuke nodded as they started to spar.

Meanwhile, in Kayaba's room, the master blacksmith sighed, "I guess its time I start with my plans."

The man looked at the blueprints in front of him. The blueprints showed two things in general. One was the ruins and remains of Sora no Kuni, the other was a something that looked like a rough cone shaped building.

(line break)

A month later, all of the Gennin stood in Chunnin Exam stadium. Well, all except one Uchiha Sasuke.

In the stands, many people mummered among themselves in confusion as to where the Uchiha was. A lot of them had came to watch him since he _was_ the Last Uchiha.

In the Kage stand, the 'Kazekage' asked, "So, Hokage-dono, where is the Uchiha? I'm quite curious about him."

Hiruzen shrugged, "Who knows? But if I know Kakashi, they'll probably be late. But I will give him the time limit to arrive here, until his match. Once his match begins, if they are not here, Sasuke is disqualified. To be a Chunnin, or even a Jounin, requires punctuality, disregarding Kakashi, since he actually has a great sense of time, but decides not to. "

The Kazekage chuckled as the disguised Sannin thought, 'That's Sarutobi-sensei for you, always strict. That's one of the few redeeming qualities you have.'

Hiruzen nodded at Kirito who nodded back. The proctor started, "Welcome to the final stage of the Chunnin Exams. The exams will be held in a tournament style, two participants will fight it out here in the arena, the winner will advance to the next match."

Before he could continue, one of the audience shouted, "What about the Uchiha? He's not here yet! A lot of us came here to watch him."

Kirito chuckled, "Well, he will have until his match. If he doesn't come by then, and his match starts, he will be disqualified."

The crowd started to protest. Until Hiruzen spoke aloud, "Silence!"

Everyone stared at the Hokage as he spoke, "This, is not just a tournament. It is a test for everyone standing down there. They have trained hard, and they are there on time. It would be unfair to all of them, if we give the young Uchiha such favouritism. Uchiha Sasuke will have until his match, otherwise he will be disqualified."

The audience went silent as they nodded at his words. Kirito chuckled silently at that before he spoke, "The first match will begin now. Uzumaki Hikari vs Hyuga Neji. The rest, please move to the stands."

The other participants moved to the stands. Asuna smiled as she walked past her sister, "Good luck, Hikari-chan."

Hikari grinned, "I don't need luck, but thanks."

Asuna nodded as she walked up with Suguha and Sinon, the two giving the blonde a thumbs up. Hikari nodded in response as she faced Neji.

Kirito glanced at the two of them, "Are you two ready?"

Neji nodded as Hikari spoke, "Yes, I'm ready."

Kirito nodded as he backed away, "Then, the first match, BEGIN!"

Hikari quickly closed the distance between them and conjured up several chakra chains with her right arm and swung them at Neji.

The Hyuga leaped away, not keen on getting hit by those chains, especially when they were made of chakra. Neji stared at her, "Chains made of chakra, I'm curious, how and where you learned to materialise chakra like that."

Hikari smirked, "Its my bloodline, you're not the only one with a special ability."

Neji hmph'd, "Faced against my Byakugan, especially when your bloodline relies on chakra, you stand no chance against me."

Up on the stands, Hiruzen, Orochimaru and Hiashi all thought, 'The one who doesn't stand a chance is you.'

The Hyuga clan head shivered subconsciously when he saw the girl wield the chains. Hikari really reminded him of her mother and it terrified him.

Hikari smiled, "Are you sure?"

Neji just ignored her as he charged forward. But his attempt was foiled when a wall of chains erupted from the ground. They were about to coil around Neji as the Hyuga cursed.

Neji thought, 'To think I would need to use this here.'

The Hyuga started to spin, to the shock of all the Hyuga present. Neji roared, "Hakesho Kaiten!"

The technique destroyed all the chains as Neji quickly charged the girl. Hikari parried the attack before she shot a torrent of chains at him.

Neji barely dodged it as he put some distance between them. Not the best course of action, but he needed to find a way to get those chains out of the fight.

Neji had known of Hikari's chains. She had used them in the preliminaries, but he thought they were just normal chains, turns out he was wrong. The Hyuga also knew of her unnaturally large chakra reserves, so he couldn't rely on her exhausting her chakra.

Neji cursed as he dodged another set of chains that shot from the ground. At least he could see where the chains came from, since they were made of chakra.

As they stayed at a stand still, Hikari asked, "I'm curious, why do you hate Hinata so much?"

Neji glared at her, "Someone like you would never understand."

Hikari just stared at him, waiting for him. Neji sighed, "Very well, since you're gonna lose anyway, it wouldn't hurt to tell you."

The Hyuga stared at Hikari, "You know, how she was kidnapped, right?"

Hikari nodded as he continued, "Her father, Hiashi-sama, killed the one who kidnapped her. But Kumogakure didn't believe it, and claimed that we killed one of their people. As a result, Kumogakure wanted his body as repayment. But, as clan head and especially as one of the main family, he couldn't just go and die."

Hikari continued to listen as he spoke, not loud enough for the crowd to hear, but loud enough for trained shinobi to hear, which included Hiashi, Hinata and most of the ninja there, "So, they chose a body double. Hiashi-sama is my uncle, and my father is his twin brother. You should know what happens next."

Hikari nodded, "They killed your father instead and used his corpse."

Neji nodded, "Indeed they did. But that's not all. The Hyuga clan, has two branches, the main family and the branch family. The names are self explanatory. The branch family serve as servants for the main family."

The Hyuga paused for a bit and spoke, "To prevent the branch family from revolting, they used a seal to force us into servitude. The Caged Bird seal."

He took off his head band to reveal a green seal on his forehead. By now, most of the Hyuga knew what was going on and the elders were furious. Hinata felt ashamed by the seal, Hanabi was a bit sad while Hiashi just watched on.

Neji stared at Hikari hard, "When I was five, they branded this seal on me. This seal burns into the skin, once activated, the bearer will feel unbearable pain. Hinata-sama doesn't have the seal, she has been weak all this time, and because of her weakness, my father was killed."

Hikari glared at him, "So you're blaming her for being weak? When she was only a few years old?"

Neji glared at her, "You wouldn't understand the feeling of losing your parents. You wouldn't understand the feeling of bearing a seal that holds down your life until it ends. You have a family who doesn't turn on each other for their own benefit, someone like you, will never understand pain."

As those words left his mouth, several people in the audience, which included Kirito, Asuna, Sinon, Suguha, Hiruzen, Jiraiya and several other Jounins all thought, 'He's dead.'

The Uzumaki glared at him as her hair started to rise. At that moment, those in the audience that knew Kushina saw her silhouette behind Hikari. The girl spoke, "I know about that more than you think."

Hikari looked at him, "You said I wouldn't understand the pain of losing my parents. You're not wrong. I never knew them, hell, I didn't know who they were until few months ago. You say I wouldn't understand the pain of bearing a seal. My father gave me a seal for my whole life on my birthday."

At the kage stands, Hiruzen sighed, " So she's gonna reveal it."

The Kazekage raised an eyebrow, "Reveal what?"

Hiruzen replied, "Just listen."

Hikari pulled up her shirt, revealing the seal on her stomach, "For my whole life, I have beared this seal. Because of this seal, for the first few years of my life, I was treated like a criminal...no, a demon. The villagers despised me. They told their children to stay away from me. But I was lucky, I met Kirito-kun, Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan. True, I suppose I won't understand that last one. I don't blame the villagers. But, would you understand the pain of not knowing who your parents are? Would you understand the pain of being despised by everyone because you hold a bijuu in your gut? "

Neji's eyes widened at that last statement. Hikari nodded as she spoke out loud, "Yeah, I hold the Kyuubi in me. My father Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, entrusted me with the task of holding back the Kyuubi from destroying the village. I am the third Jinchurikii of the Kyuubi, after Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Mito."

Everyone was shocked at the reveal. All of them sensed no deceit in her words. Then everyone saw it, the blonde hair, the fiery personality. Hikari was essentially a mix of Minato and Kushina. The villagers had no more ill intent towards Hikari, and they were ashamed of their initial treatment towards her. But now that they knew exactly who Hikari was, their guilt increase ten fold.

Hikari ignored the mummers as she looked at Neji, "Hyuga Neji, you said I wouldn't understand pain. True, I wouldn't understand your pain, but I sure as hell have experienced it."

Neji was surprised, he nodded, "I was wrong about you. But, it doesn't change the realilty of the main family of the Hyuga clan."

Hikari grew a tick mark as she made a Rasengan in her right hand, "You still don't get it, do you?"

The Rasengan glowed with power, causing everyone to widen their eyes in surprise. Hikari yelled as she charged, "If you don't do anything about it, nothing is gonna change, you fucking idiot !"

Hikari charged at Neji who readied his stance. The Hyuga roared, "Hakesho Kaiten!"

The girl yelled, "Rasengan!"

The two spheres of rotating power collided. For a moment, the Kaiten held strong. But then, Hikari's Rasengan broke through the defensive jutsu.

At the same time, Hikari's Rasengan dissipated. As Hikari closed in, she drew her fist back and gave Neji a hard punch to the face, sending him flying straight into the wall.

Neji stumbled as he stood up and glared at the girl. Hikari then made a single handseal, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Instantly, fifty clones appeared. To Neji's shock, he couldn't idenify which was the original one. Everyone of them had the exact same chakra signature.

But the Hyuga didn't have the time for that. As soon as the smoke cleared, Hikari spoke, "Get him."

All the clones and Hikari herself charged. And for the next three minutes, Neji received the worst beating of his entire life. He was punched, kicked, slashed and beaten all over as Hikari unleashed her fury upon him.

All the men, especially Kirito and Jiraiya winced whenever Neji was hit. In the stands, Kayaba chuckled as he thought, 'Quite the girl, Kirito. I wonder if he is a masochist, and if the three other girls are similar.'

After three minutes, Neji laid panting painfully on the ground as Hikari's clones dispersed. The girl asked, "So, have you learned your lesson?"

Neji nodded slightly, wincing in pain as he did. Hikari asked again, "Are you still gonna blame Hinata?"

Neji shook his head painfully. Hikari continued, "Will you at least try to mend things between you and Hinata?"

Neji nodded as he painfully looked at Kirito. The Hyuga mouthed painfully, 'I give up.'

Hikari looked at Kirito who nodded, "As Hyuga Neji is unable to continue, the winner of this match is Namikaze Hikari."

The girl smiled at the blacksmith as she went up to the stands where everyone congratulated her for her win. The crowd cheered for Hikari and Kirito heard fanboys yell, "Marry me Hikari-sama!"

The blacksmith even swore he heard girls yelling the same thing. He looked up and chuckled as he saw Hikari had a forced smile on her face, most probably because Sinon and Suguha teased her.

On the stands, Hiashi thought, 'I suppose its time I gave him Hizashi' s letter.'

As the crowd started to quiet down, Kirito spoke, "For the next match, can Asada Sinon and Nara Shikamaru please come down?"

XXX

Done. Review please. So the next chapter will be Sinon vs Shikamaru.


	19. Chapter 19

Hey, this is chapter 19. Thx for the reviews, I think I might not do the Sasuke Retrieval arc, and have Sasuke stay in the village instead.

XXX

As Sinon and Shikamaru stood in front of each other in the arena, the 'Kazekage' spoke, "Who knew the girl was the Yondaime Hokage's daughter... I never knew he had a daughter."

Hiruzen chuckled, "They never did reveal of their child or Kushina's pregnancy. Sadly, they both died on Hikari's birthday."

The Sannin in disguise nodded as he thought, 'I heard Sasuke-kun is interested in the girl, maybe I can use her as a means to get him to me. It could get the Akatsuki off my back.'

In the fighters' stands, Hikari shivered as she felt a weird feeling coming from the Kage stand. Asuna asked, "Hikari-chan, is there something wrong?"

The blonde shook her head and smiled, "Its nothing, Sinon-chan's match is starting."

The girl nodded as Suguha wondered, "I wonder what new tricks she has?"

Asuna smiled, "Whatever she has, Sinon-chan will definitely win."

Hikari nodded before she giggled, "But, its Shikamaru she's up against."

The two girls just nodded as they watched the match. At the side, Gaara was watching Hikari with a weird expression. He knew she was like him, the Shukaku had confirmed she was the Kyuubi's Jinchurikii, hell she even admitted it out loud. But Gaara, for the life of him, couldn't figure out why she was so... normal, for the lack of a better word.

As the youngest sibling of the Sabaku siblings got lost in his musings, Kankuro whispered to Temari, "Hey, Gaara has been staring at her for a while, you don't think he actually likes her?"

Temari looked at him incredulously, "Its Gaara we're talking about, its either he wants to kill her or something interests him. But then, I'm curious, she stated she's the Jinchurikii of the Kyuubi, she seems normal."

Kankuro nodded, "Eh, maybe they sealed it a different way. Plus its a different bijuu, no one knows."

Temari nodded as they watched the next match.

Down in the arena, Kirito looked at both fighters, "Are you two ready?"

Shikamaru sighed, "Yeah, let's just get over with it."

Sinon nodded as Kirito spoke, "Very well, then... BEGIN!"

He leaped away as Sinon quickly drew her bow, notching an arrow as Shikamaru jumped away flashing through handseals.

Sinon released arrow after arrow, not intending to allow Shikamaru to stop on the ground long enough to establish a link with the shadows.

The girl slowly moved forward as she shot the arrows at the Nara, making him dance like a monkey. Sinon wasn't too worried about ammunition, or at least not now, she had at least a thousand arrows stored in the seals on her and her bow, thanks to her summons some time ago.

Now, Shikamaru cursed, he had expectednthe archer to use her arrows carefully, which would allow him to use his shadows. The Nara had thought of many scenarios, one of which included her firing arrows non stop where she would run out of ammo, and allow him to win.

He certainly did not expect this. Shikamaru quickly hid behind one of the few trees in the arena and used the shadows to protect him.

The Nara started to think. Sinon seemed to have a limitless amount of arrows, and he didn't know how she could draw them so quickly. His chakra levels were around high chunnin level, which wasn't saying much, especially when his jutsu required high levels of chakra, for him anyway.

Shikaku had done everything to raise his son's chakra levels as high as he could, and with the techniques Shikamaru used, it was only barely enough in one match. Plus Shikamaru was using shadows to protect himself now, which in itself was slowly draining his reserves.

As Shikamaru raced through his mind for ideas, Sinon saw that he wasn't doing anything. The girl decided to take a different approach and put away her bow.

The Nara was slightly confused when the attacks stopped, thinking she had ran out of ammo. The teen peeked out and paled.

After Sinon put away her bow, she bit her thumb and smeared her palm with blood as she sped through a series of handseals. The girl then slammed her palm on the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Smoke clouded the air, which quickly dispersed to reveal a white cat the size of a lion. Sinon spoke, "Shirone-san."

The cat nodded to her summoner, "Sinon, so, your match huh?"

The archer nodded, "Shikamaru seems to be hiding, you know where he is?"

The cat grinned, "You called me out just for this? Surely you already know where he is."

The archer smiled, "Of course, let's begin."

The cat nodded as she turned to the tree where Shikamaru was hiding. The cat's grin widen as she spotted his pale face. Then she pounced.

Shirone reached the teen in no time and grabbed him by his face before he could back away into the shadows. Then she flung him out of the shadows into the walls.

The Nara groaned as he regained his bearings. Then he saw a paw in front of his face. The lazy ninja barely dodged it as he ran away.

Shikamaru cursed, his stamina wasn't that good. He had no way of winning against a cat that big, especially if Sinon started to shoot him.

The next thing happened was not within his expectations. Shikamaru was slowly moving away from the walls, with the huge cat following. As the Nara heir considered his options, at the corner of his eyes, he spotted Sinon charging.

But what caught his eye, was not the girl charging him. It was the fact that she didn't hold her bow, but wielding a pair of tanto (which are essentially daggers tbh).

If it was a month ago, Shikamaru would have been slaughteres easily. But because of Shikaku and Yoshino's training, Shikamaru had improved quite a bit. The Nara jumped up to avoid the attack and for a few minutes, he was holding his own with a pair of his own kunai.

Then Shirone decided to intervene. The cat pounced on the Nara, pushing him onto the ground and growled at him, "Give up, now."

Sinon stood behind Shirone just in case Shikamaru tried anything. She was facing a Nara after all, regardless of how lazy they were, they were highly intelligent.

Shikamaru sighed. His chakra was a quarter gone, mostly due to hiding in the shadows. It was really taxing on his reserves since he had not mastered it yet. Plus Shirone didn't need Sinon's orders to move, so even if he could trap the archer, the cat would just rip him to shreds, nor could he trap Shirone and Sinon at the same time.

The Nara looked at Kirito, "I give up."

Kirito nodded, "By forfeit, Asada Sinon is the winner."

The crowd boo'ed, since in their eyes, Shikamaru gave up too easily. Shikaku however knew better, his son had made a tactical retreat and knew when to back away. He was simply unlucky to have faced Sinon.

Yoshino, however, was mad, "That little... He gave up?!"

Shikaku sighed and just prayed for his son. The woman was simply just too repulsive, but he couldn't blame her. To be honest, Shikamaru made a mistake in choosing to hide. Instead of playing on defense, since both were mid-long ranged fighters, he should have pushed on.

But eh, everything was over so nothing mattered anymore. Then he heard Yoshino say, "I bet a thousand ryo on him!"

Okay, that mattered. He was going to give his son a little talk on strategy and a step up on training.

At the kage stand, Hiruzen chuckled, "Ah, so he gave up. Too bad, if he had advanced, I would have had him promoted."

The 'Kazekage' nodded, "Unfortunately, he lost. So, will yoy promote the girl?"

The Hokage shrugged, "Maybe, depends on how she does later on."

The sannin in disguise nodded as they watched on. Then, Kirito spoke, "Okay, so for the next match, Sabaku no Temari and Yuki Asuna, please come down."

The auburn haired girl smiled at the other girls who gave her thumbs up as they went down. Temari merely nodded to Kankuro as Gaara spoke softly, "Good luck, Temari."

The eldest sibling of the trio blinked and nodded, "Got it, Gaara."

The fan user then jumped down to the arena and stood opposite of Asuna.

Kirito looked at the two girls and asked, "Are you ready?"

They both nodded and Kirito backed away, "Then, BEGIN!"

Asuna quickly drew her rapier and charged the fan user. Temari was surprised by the speed Asuna had, as she wasn't too used to facing opponents like that.

The blonde quickly raised her fan and blocked a stab from Asuna. Temari tried to counter, but Asuna was faster. Quickly recovering from the recoil of the sudden stop of her sword, Asuna turned and swung her sword at Temari's head.

It was an unusual style of using a rapier, but Asuna's Lambant Light was unlike a normal rapier. Unlike the normal rapiers, Asuna's sword had a wider blade with sharp edges. So she could slash with it, though it wasn't encouraged.

The daughter of the Kazekage cursed and tilted her head just enough that the sword was a mere inch above her eyes as it passed by. Quickly thinking, Temari immediately thrust her fan into Asuna's chest, sending her stumbling a few steps back.

Temari smirked, "You're not bad."

Asuna smiled not so kindly, "You too."

Temari spoke, "Let me show you, my true power."

She quickly spread open her fan and swung it hard, "Fuuton: Kamaitachi no Jutsu!"

A huge vortex of wind shot towards the girl. Asuna cursed, she couldn't possibly dodge an attack of that scale. Sheathing her sword quickly, she bit her thumb, smearing her palm with blood as she flashed through hand seals.

Asuna slammed her palm on the ground and yelled, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A cloud of smoke covered her, but the wind blew it away. Temari's eyes widened as she saw ab orca the size of a horse floating in front of Asuna, seemingly blocked the attack.

The orca glanced at Asuna, "So soon?"

The girl smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, but summoning you was the first thing that came to mind, Blue."

The whale nodded, "I guess it can't be helped. On a side note, you could have used a water wall."

Asuna nodded, "I know. You can talk later, we need to defeat her."

Blue nodded, "Fine. Its been a while since I fought above water anyways. This can be a nice workout."

Asuna nodded as they both charged. Temari quickly responded by swinging her fan, sending yet another wall of wind at them. This time, Asuna and Blue were ready.

The whale shot a huge torrent of water from his blowhole, which struck the ground, forming a wall of water. The wall stopped the wind as Asuna burst out of the water and aimed a stab at Temari's chest.

The blonde instinctively closed her fan and blocked the stab with the metal part of the fan. But Asuna wasn't done, quickly pulling her sword back, she spun and gave a back kick to Temari's abdomen, sending her stumbling back.

The daughter of the Kazekage cursed, she hadn't signed the Weasel contract because she thought it was not necessary yet, and now it was biting her back in the ass.

Temari let chakra flow through her fan once again as she swung hard, sending a huge wall of wind at Asuna and Blue.

The whale shot more water to block the wind before he yelled, "Asuna, now!"

The girl nodded as she sheathed her sword. Then she sped through a series of hand seals, "Suiton: Dabakufu no Jutsu!"

The water on the ground and the water Blue had spat out swirled and formed a huge vortex of water. The vortex shot towards Temari who swung her fan and sent a vortex of wind.

The two attacks collided and caused a huge explosion of water that doused the whole arena. Temari was slightly surprised by the explosion and didn't see her opponent charge.

Asuna kicked the fan out of Temari's grasp before she sweeped her off her feet. The daughter of the Kazekage cursed as she tried to get up, cursing herself for getting distracted.

But before she could move a muscle, Temari felt the tip of a cold steel blade at her neck as well as water holding her arms and legs in place, courtesy of Blue with his water manipulation.

Asuna looked at her opponent in the eye, "Yield?"

Temari glanced at Baki who was in the stands above. The Suna Jounin nodded ever so slightly, but Temari caught it. The girl sighed, "Fine, I give up."

Kirito nodded and announced, "Due to forfeit, Yuki Asuna is the winner of the match."

The crowd cheered for Asuna's victory as they went up to the stands. As the two girls went up, Temari spoke, "The next time we fight, I will win."

Asuna smiled and nodded, "I welcome your challenge."

Temari smirked as she went to stand beside Baki in the audience. The Suna Jounin spoke, "Not a bad fight. You just faced one of the worst opponents you could have faced."

Temari nodded, "Thank you, Baki-sensei."

Baki nodded, "But don't get careless. After this, when Gaara starts, its the real thing."

The girl nodded, though she thought inside, 'I'm fine with the invasion. But they're just using Gaara as a weapon. I don't like this. And I just can't help but think this will go wrong.'

The daughter of the Kazekage looked down at the arena as Kirito spoke, "The next match will be Sabaku no Kankuro vs Kirigaya Suguha. Can these two participants come down?"

The two jumped down and Kankuro smirked at the girl, "Get ready, I won't hold back."

Suguha smiled slightly, "Yeah."

Kirito chuckled at their enthusiasm and spoke, "Are you two ready?"

They nodded and Kirito backed away, "Then, HAJIME!"

Suguha drew her katana in an instant and shot towards the puppeteer. Kankuro leaped away as he loosened the bandages on the Karasu, revealing the puppet as he quickly attached his chakra strings to it.

Suguha swung her sword down and clashed against the puppet's own blade. The girl tch'd as she jumped away to avoid senbon from the Karasu's mouth.

Kankuro grinned, "Not bad, you dodged that."

Suguha stayed silent as she thought, 'That puppet is really in the way. I need to cut the chakra strings.'

Channeling chakra into the Tempest, Suguha charged. Once again, Kankuro willed the Karasu to step in front of Suguha. But this time, the girl was ready.

She quickly leaped to the right and got to the side of the puppet. Then she swung downwards. In an instant, the puppet fell limp to the ground.

Kankuro cursed as Suguha immediately turned her attention to him, charging straight at him. The puppeteer cursed as he dodged the swings one by one. He couldn't keep up for so long, he glanced at Baki who nodded.

The eldest son of the Kazekaga grinned as he landed on the ground, "Sorry, but this is where it ends. I'm using everything I've got."

Kankuro took out a scroll from his coat and and unrolled them, "Behold! My greatest puppet to date! The Salamander!"

The scroll released a huge amount of smoke, which quickly cleared to reveal a huge puppet that looked like a reptile.

Suguha grinned, "If that's what you want, then I'll go all out too."

The girl maintained her stance as she focused, natural chakra entering her body from the air. It wasn't perfect yet, and she could only maintain it for 10 minutes. But it was enough.

Suguha's hair started to grow to waist length and turned blonde. Her eyes turned to a light green as her ears turned slightly pointy. The girl sheathed her sword as she took out a rubber band and tied her hair into a pony tail.

The girl stared at Kankuro straight into his eyes. At that instant, the puppeteer felt like she was staring staring straight into his soul. He felt fear.

In the audience, most Jounin were surprised by the change, curious as to what she did. But some of them knew. Tsume blinked, "That... Looks like a sage mode."

Shikaku nodded, "Indeed it does. I wonder where did she learn that."

Shikamaru looked at his dad, "Sage mode?"

Shikaku nodded, "Yeah. You know Jiraiya-sama, right?"

The Nara heir nodded as his father continued, "He has a mode called the sage mode. Its a mode where the user absorbs chakra from the nature and increases their abilities several times. But for now, according to Jiraiya-sama, only those with summons can learn them, provided the summon has one and allows you to. "

Shikamaru looked at the girl at the arena, "Sage mode, huh?"

At the kage stands, Orochimaru was yelling in joy in his mind, 'Finally someone young who has control over sage mode! I must get her body! Even if I don't transfer to it immediately, it can serve as a spare or the next one I use.'

Down in the arena, Kirito thought, 'This feeling, you've become stronger, Suguha-chan.'

He then felt a strange feeling from the kage stands and glares at it, somehow feeling negative intent from the stands.

With Hiruzen, he thought, 'Not bad, to have learned sage mode at such a young age. But Orochimaru, you're too careless, you've pratically revealed yourself. Even Kirito knows you're here.'

Back at the match, Suguha charged forward, closing the gap between her and Kankuro in mere seconds. Before he knew it, Suguha was right in his face, sword poised to strike.

The puppeteer quickly substituted with the Karasu as Suguha swung her blade. The head of the puppet feel to the floor as she turned to Kankuro reestablish his link with the larger puppet.

The Salamander responded and blew fire at Suguha. The girl saw the flames coming, but she stood still as she steadily let out a breath. The girl raised her katana as she chanelled wind chakra into it. Then she swung.

In an instant, the flames split into two, moving past Suguha harmlessly as they struck the ground behind her, causing a huge explosion.

The crowd was in awe at how she cut the flames apart. Hell, even Kankuro was scared. Never in his life had he seen anyone cut fire in half like that. To be honest, he was scared. The puppeteer thought, 'This is ridiculous! She can cut flames in half?! Screw the invasion!'

Before Suguha could charge again, Kankuro dropped the puppet and yelled, "I give up!"

Suguha blinked, "Eh?"

Kirito was also surprised, he had thought Kankuro would fight to the end or something, given his vigor when the match started. But no one could blame him, Suguha had just cut flames into two, which, given the correct technique and equipment, anyone could do. But Kankuro didn't know that.

Kirito nodded, "By forfeit, Kirigaya Suguha is the winner of the match."

The crowd boo'ed at Kankuro for giving up as the puppeteer went to the audience's stand where Baki and Temari were standing. Temari stared at her brother, "You know you didn't have to reveal the Salamander."

Kankuro chuckled sheepishly, "Well, I was thinking of going all out and winning, but the power she exerted was too huge and I still need to save my energy."

Baki sighed, "What's done is done. Just stay sharp."

The two siblings nodded as they watched on, ready to move at any moments' notice. Meanwhile, a few seats away, Kabuto, disguised as an Anbu, stood by the walls as he thought, 'Finally, I got away from those fiends. I couldn't find any info of Kirito, but that can wait. I don't think this will actually work, but Orochimaru-sama wishes for it. Now, where are you, Sasuke?'

Down in the arena, Kirito spoke, "The next match will be Sabaku no Gaara vs Uchiha Sasuke. Can these two come down?"

Gaara wordlessly Shunshin'd down to the arena in a swirl of sand. The Ichibi Jinchurikii stood there and waited.

Kirito sighed and looked around after a few minutes, 'Seriously, Kakashi... Where the fuck are you?'

Some distance away, in a random cafe, Kakashi was having tea with Sasuke. The cyclops eye-smiled, "Well, I think its almost time, let's go."

Sasuke nodded as they stood up and headed for the stadium.

Back at the arena, Kirito sighed and looked up at Hiruzen. The Hokage nodded as Kirito spoke, "As Uchiha Sasuke is not here, he is dis-"

Before he could finish, a huge wind blew as a huge swirl of leaves appeared in the middle of the arena, revealing Sasuke and Kakashi. Gaara just stared at them emotionlessly.

The copy ninja asked, "We're not late, are we?"

Kirito sighed, "He was just about to be disqualified... Ya think?"

Kakashi eye smiled, "Well, he's here now, so can we get the match started?"

The proctor looked up at the Hokage again who sighed and nodded. Kirito nodded and spoke, "Fine, get out of the arena Kakashi, we'll begin."

Kakashi nodded and leaped up to the audience as Sasuke stood in front of Gaara. Kirito asked, "Are you two ready?"

Gaara and Sasuke both nodded wordlessly. Kirito then announced as he stepped back, "Then, BEGIN!"

Sasuke immediately charged forward with surprising speed and sent a kick at Gaara, only to strike a sand wall.

The Ichibi Jinchurikii commented, "Hmm, your speed, its similar to that green spandex."

Sasuke smirked, "With his weights on, yeah, I still have ways to go. But its enough for you!"

Gaara silently willed the sand to attack Sasuke. The Uchiha jumped up to dodge the attacks as he punched and kicked the sand away.

On the stands, Gai was surprised. The taijutsu master asked his eternal rival, "Kakashi, how did you increase his speed by that much?"

The cyclops eye smiled, "Well, I did it the same way you did."

Gai stared at him in surprise, "But to increase his speed by that fast... It has to be at least 50kg per weight!"

Kakashi nodded, "Exactly. To beat Gaara. He needs at least that amount of speed."

The taijutsu specialist sighed, "You're crazy."

Kakashi chuckled, "I don't think you have the right to call me crazy, yoy taught a Gennin the Eight Gates."

Asuma chuckled at the side, "He got ya there."

Kurenai just sighed and shook her head while watching it. Meanwhile, Yugao was just smiling, ignoring them and just happy that all of her students had won their first matches.

Back at the match, Sasuke landed on the ground after dodging several streams of sand. He flashed through handseals and roared, "Katon: Goryuka no Jutsu!"

He blew a huge torrent of flames at Gaara. The youngest son of the Kazekage instinctively raised a wall of sand to block the flames, but to his surprise, the sand turned to glass.

Sasuke panted slightly and grinned as he turned a portion of Gaara's sand to glass. It had taken an eighth of his high Jounin chakra levels, which Kakashi had helped him increased.

The Ichibi Jinchurikii was even more surprised, when Sasuke turned and ran up the walls of the arena. Stopping near the edge of the walls, he started to go through several handseals.

A familiar loud sound of birds chirping reach Hikari's ears in the participants' stand. The daughter of the Yondaime Hokage's eyes widened, "Kakashi-sensei taught him that?"

The girl looked at Kakashi in the audience and he just eye smiled as she saw the other Jounin talk to him.

Sinon asked, "Is that?"

Hikari nodded, "The Chidori."

Asuna and Suguha just stayed silent as they watched on, already thinking of ways to fight Gaara and Sasuke if they needed to.

On the kage stands, Orochimaru was practically drooling, 'He even knows the Chidori?! Thank you very much Kakashi!'

Down at the arena, lightning gathered in Sasuke's palm as Gaara broke out of the glass. The Uchiha then moved, his Sharingan glowing as he ran down the walls, building up speed as he charged Gaara.

The Ichibi Jinchurikii quickly raised a sand wall, but he was too late. Before the sand could fully form the wall, Sasuke was already in front of him. Then the Uchiha slammed his arm into Gaara's shoulder.

Gaara looked at his shoulder, shocked by the pain, "Is this... my blood?"

Before he could continue, Sasuke roared as he pulled and flung Gaara straight into the wall.

Sasuke panted as he smirked, "How's that?"

Gaara was shocked. For the first time, he had been wounded. For the first time, his sand had failed. For the first time, someone actually managed to separate him from his sand.

The redhead started to laugh as he shakily stood up. Gaara stared at Sasuke, "FINALLY! UCHIHA SASUKE! YOU WILL PROVE MY EXISTENCE! THEN, UZUMAKI... NO... NAMIKAZE HIKARI! YOU ARE NEXT!"

Sand swirled around Gaara, quickly forming a dome around him. But before the dome formed, Sasuke and most of the Jounin, including Kirito, caught a glimpse of red chakra at Gaara's shoulder.

In the audience, Kabuto, still disguised as an Anbu, sighed, 'I guess he lost it. Whatever, let's get started.'

He flashed through a set of handseals and casted a large scale genjutsu on the arena.

Back at the arena, Kirito blinked as he saw feathers falling from the sky. Then he started feeling sleepy before he quickly dispelled the genjutsu.

He looked around to see many of the civilians asleep while most of the shinobi were awake. A huge explosion erupted from the kage stand as a huge barrier formed on the roof, with Hiruzen and Orochimaru standing there.

His attention was torn back to the arena as the sand dome burst to reveal a semi transformed Gaara. Then, many Suna and Oto shinobi appeared and started attacking the Konoha shinobi.

Then, suddenly, Gaara roared and charged Sasuke. Sasuke quickly jumped away before Gaara screamed in pain, the transformation dispelling as the sand fell to the ground.

Temari, Kankuro and Baki jumped down near Gaara before Sasuke could attack.

Baki spoke, "Temari, Kankuro, lead Gaara away. Proceed with the plan, we cannot have him transform here."

Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon jumped down to him. Sasuke looked around and asked, "What's happening?"

The girls also looked curious as Kirito stood in front of them, facing the Suna shinobi. The swordsman drew the Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor, "The Chunnin Exams are over, its an invasion."

XXX

Done. Review please. So, should Kirito help fight Gaara? Or should he fight Baki? Or should he help fight Orochimaru? Should Hiruzen live? Tell me your opinions and ideas. Until the next chapter.


	20. Chapter 20

Hey. This is chapter 20. I will give Kirito the UBW. But not so early. It will be at around the start of the SAO element arcs. Like at the end of the Aincrad arc.

By the way, I've added a poll on my profile, which story should I do next? If you're interested, please vote.

XXX

Kirito held his swords and stood in a stance, "You girls go after Gaara and the other two. I'll hold their Jounin back. Sasuke, you follow them."

Sasuke wanted to protest but Kirito cut him off, "As of now, you'll only hold me back, and Hikari-chan, you have nine, Gaara has one, you should be able to defeat him, Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan, Sinon-chan, if all of you work together, you can defeat them."

Baki huffed, "As if I will let you reach them. I will kill you all, just like I killed that swordsman a few weeks back."

The Suna Jounin flashed through a set of handseals, "Fuuton: Kaze no Yaiba."

Kirito saw this and quickly held up his arms, "Hikisake, VARTEX!"

A vortex of wind appeared around Kirito, negating the wind blades. Kirito narrowed his eyes, "So, that is what killed Hayate-san."

Baki chuckled, "That swordsman a few weeks ago? Yeah, my wind blades, let's see how you do against them, shall we?"

Kirito yelled, "Go, now!"

Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon leaped away with a reluctant Sasuke. As they left Kirito glared at him, "You will pay for killing Hayate-san."

Baki smirked, "I'd like to see you try."

Kirito glanced away and saw Yugao and the other Jounin sensei fighting off the invading Suna and Oto ninja. He turned back to Baki, "Everyone is already fighting, shall we begin?"

Baki didn't reply and Kirito charged him, swords ready to strike. The Suna Jounin quickly drew a kunai and parried a strike from Kirito.

The blacksmith leaped away to dogde a wind blade from the jounin, the wind blade slicing the ground. Baki raised an eyebrow, "Oh, you dodged that."

Kirito just narrowed his eyes at the Jounin, 'I can barely see the blades, nor can I sense them.'

The blacksmith then got an idea, 'Wait, the Vartex, just now it negated the blades, if I keep it up as a wind armor around me, I can negate them.'

Before he could think more, Baki yelled, "Fuuton: Renkuudan!"

He shot out several balls of pressurized air at Kirito, noticable from the distortions in the air. Kirito leaped out of the way as the air bullets hit the ground.

The swordsman raised his right arm and chanted, "Kaze yo, ware no yaiba ni nare. Hikisake, VARTEX!"

The vortex formed around the young man, but this time, Kirito maintained it around his body, not sending it as an attack. But there was one downside, in this state, Kirito couldn't cast any other spells, so he had to rely on his sword skills.

The Suna Jounin sent another wave of wind blades at Kirito, but the blades were just absorbed into the vortex around the young man. Baki tch'd before his eyes widened as Kirito appeared in front of him.

The black haired teen had his swords at the right, poised to strike. The Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor glowed as Kirito yelled, "DOUBLE CIRCULAR!"

He swung both swords horizontally. Baki quickly leaped away, but he wasn't fast enough as the swords left two huge gashes on his chest. The Suna jounin cursed, at least he avoided death. But it still hurt like hell.

Kirito retook his stance and charged Baki again. Then, right before he entered striking range, where Baki was preparing to unleash a wind jutsu, Kirito glowed red and vanished.

The Suna Jounin's eyes widened, 'That is!'

He turned to see Kirito swing his swords. Again, Baki dropped to the floor just in time to dodge decapitation before he rolled away.

Kirito narrowed his eyes, "Again you dodged it. Just how lucky can you get?"

Baki panted slightly, "That, just now, was that the Hiraishin the Yondaime Hokage was so famous for?"

Kirito retook his stance, "Maybe, maybe not. But I believe, that is not your greatest concern now."

Baki's eyes widened as Kirito vanished in a flash of red and appeared in front of him. Kirito spoke, "Let me show, my skill burst."

Then the combo started. Kirito went through a total of five skills, Sharp Nail, Horizontal Square, Meteor Fall, Radiant Arc and Vorpal Strike. It was an idea where he connected single handed sword skills and used them consecutively like a dual wield sword skill.

He called it... Skill Connect.

Even if it was only 11 attacks, the skill combo was so fast, no one could catch what Kirito was doing. They only saw a blur of black and several colours before Kirito appeared behind Baki, the Elucidator in his right hand stretched out to the front.

The Suna Jounin screamed silently before his body literally fell to pieces, blood spraying all over the place.

The teen swung his swords, flicking off the blood from the blade as he looked around. He couldn't help Hiruzen now, not when he saw one of the Anbu burned alive by the barrier.

Kirito then wondered where was Jiraiya, if there was someone who could help him, it was Jiraiya. But while the Sannin had been present when the Chunnin Exams started, Kirito didn't know where he was now.

The blacksmith spread his wings and shot upwards, going to find Jiraiya as he thought, 'Hold on Hokage-sama, I'll find Jiraiya.'

Meanwhile, Hikari, Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and Sasuke were leaping through the trees, chasing after Gaara and his siblings.

As the three leaped through the trees, Kankuro spoke, "Temari, I'll stay back and hold them off. Take care of Gaara."

The puppeteer went to let go of Gaara but Temari held on to his arm, "What are you talking about?"

Kankuro stared at his sister as they jumped, "Its a matter of time before they catch up, the Uchiha will kill Gaara, the Kyuubi Jinchurikii will kill Gaara. If you can get him to a place where he can complete the transformation, then it will be fine."

Temari glared at him, "So you just want to use him? He's our brother!"

Kankuro glared back, "I KNOW! But its our best bet now! Right now, Gaara is wounded, the Ichibi will heal him in that state."

Temari wanted to argue, but she knew he was correct. The girl nodded, "Fine. Don't die."

Kankuro nodded as he let out of Gaara, stopping on one tree branch, "Don't look back, just keep going!"

The puppeteer turned to see the group closing in quickly. Kankuro chuckled, "Well, to meet my end so quickly. I guess its one of those times."

He took out another scroll, not the Karasu or the Salamander. He unrolled the scroll, unsealing the puppet in it.

The smoke cleared to reveal a puppet similar to the Karasu, but with a much larger head. This was the Kuroari, literally the Black Ant.

As Sasuke saw the puppet, he spoke, "I'm going on ahead, you girls hold him back."

Sinon wanted to argue but he had already charged forward. Suguha sighed, "Well, I guess I'll stay behind and face him. He did forfeit our match."

Sinon nodded, "I guess I'll help."

Asuna nodded, "Then, Hikari-chan and I will go after the other two."

The girls nodded as Sinon and Suguha stopped on a nearby branch respectively while Hikari and Asuna went on ahead.

Kankuro however, wasn't keen on letting them pass just like that. He willed the puppet to charge them, but the Kuroari was stopped by several arrows.

Kankuro glared at Sinon as Suguha spoke, the three Konoha shinobi passing by the puppeteer, "Sorry, but we are your opponents."

The Suna gennin glared at them, "If I can't stop all of you, then at the very least, I'll lessen Gaara's burden."

The two girls didn't reply. Then Sinon started to focus, allowing nature chakra to enter her body. Suguha did the same.

Then, the two girls changed. Sinon's hair turned to a light blue, her eyes also turned light blue with a barely noticeable slit. She grew two cat ears and a cat tail.

Suguha's hair turned blonde as she tied her hair into a pony tail, her eyes turning light green and her ears became slightly pointed.

The two of them had entered their respective sage modes. Kankuro could feel the power radiating off of them, and he had to admit they looked really hot now, if not for the fact that they were coming for his life, he might have tried to hit on them.

But that was neither here nor there, Kankuro had to buy time for Gaara, for Temari. Even if he died, at least, if Gaara succeeded to complete his transformation, he and Temari would be safe. The puppeteer knew, even if his brother seemed like a sociopath or a psycopath, he knew the Ichibi Jinchurikii cared for him and Temari, or at least their sister. Gaara might kill him, but Kankuro was sure that Gaara would never hurt Temari.

The puppeteer focused himself and stared at the two girls in front of him. Then he willed his puppet to charge.

Suguha and Sinon saw the puppet coming. Sinon drew her bow and aimed it at Kankuro as Suguha charged.

The archer released her arrows, and as predicted, the Kuroari jumped in front of the line of fire and took the hits. But something else happened, the puppet opened up and took the arrows. Then it raised its arms and fired a volley of senbon at then.

Suguha quickly parried the senbon before they could shoot past her at Sinon and charged Kankuro.

The puppeteer willed the puppet to charge Suguha, drawing two scythes as it swung the blades at the katana user.

Suguha saw the attacks coming and parried them with ease. Sinon then started shooting arrows at Kankuro. The puppeteer jumped up to dodge the attacks, and at the same time, he released more chakra to increase the length of his chakra threads.

Then, the swordswoman charged forward, using her increased agility to spin around the puppet before she cut the strings off.

Kankuro cursed as the previous scenario from the Chunnin Exams repeated. He knew she already knew how to fight a Suna puppeteer. Hell, she was the worst opponent for him, coupled with the archer, his loss was assured.

The puppeteer cursed as his weapon was rendered useless. He took out another scroll and took out the Karasu, which was missing its head since Suguha had beheaded the puppet and Kankuro did not have time to repair it.

Kankuro willed the puppet to charge forward, shooting out poison smoke bombs as he did. Suguha, with her enhanced sight, saw what he was doing and channeled wind chakra to her Tempest, making wind to swirl around the blade.

Sinon also saw it and channeled wind chakra to the tip of her arrow, a small vortex forming around the tip of the arrow.

Suguha then swung her blade, unleashing a wave of wind as Sinon released her arrow. The two wind attributed attacks shot forward and cleared the poison gas as if it was nothing before they struck the Karasu, totally breaking it to pieces.

Then, before Kankuro knew it, Suguha was in front of him, her katana at his neck while Sinon had an arrow aimed at his forehead. The Suna gennin could only kneel and raise both arms in a surrendering manner.

Suguha then looked at Sinon, "Then, now what? I mean we beat him, but we can't just leave him here. Do we kill him?"

The archer shrugged, "Eh, I don't know. But killing him leaves a bad taste for me. Maybe tie him up and bring him with us?"

Suguha nodded, "That works."

They turned to Kankuro who paled.

Meanwhile, Hikari, Asuna and Sasuke chased after Gaara and Temari. The three Konoha shinobi were closing in quite fast, and Temari was slowly lagging behind as she had to carry Gaara.

Soon, Sasuke entered striking range and he flashed through handseals, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

The fireball shot towards Temari and Gaara before Hikari or Asuna could do anything. The Suna kunoichi saw the fireball and threw Gaara towards a tree and leaped away, dodging the blast.

Temari landed and a branch and sighed in relief as Gaara landed safely on another branch. The girl was really grateful for the large trees in Konoha.

Hikari and Asuna reached Sasuke, who held up a kunai in a stance. Asuna spoke, "Why did you shoot?"

The Uchiha answered, as if it was obvious thing, "They are the enemy now, don't tell me you want to let them live?"

Asuna just stayed silent as she drew her rapier. Hikari just drew a kunai as she stood beside Asuna, wary of Gaara who was muttering and breathing heavily on the branch. The Uzumaki knew, her fellow Jinchurikii could wake up any moment, and if what she guessed was correct, Gaara would unleash the Ichibi.

As for Temari, everyone there knew she couldn't possibly fight off all three of them. The girl knew, fighting Sasuke alone would be hard enough, fighting Asuna was an instant loss and Hikari, if she used the Kyuubi's chakra, could kill her with the her hands tied to her back.

Then before they could move, Gaara groaned as he shakily stood up. He quickly took notice of Sasuke and Hikari. Then he heard the Shukaku roar at him to kill them. The redhead yelled in pain before he glared at them, red chakra leaking from his body, enveloping his body, forming the parts of the Shukaku over his right arm, chest and half of his head.

Temari stared in shock as Gaara underwent the semi-transformation. With Hikari, the Kyuubi spoke mentally, "Shukaku, huh?"

Hikari replied, "After a month, you finally say something?"

The Kyuubi retorted, "I had nothing to say to you that time. This is different. I can feel the piece of shit that holds Shukaku back, its so weak that its possible for the kid to draw on his power easily."

Hikari nodded and replied mentally, 'So that's why he can use that so easily.'

The Kyuubi chuckled, "But of course, there are downsides. If he falls unconscious, knowing that lil bastard of a racoon, the Shukaku will definitely take over his body. I, on the other hand, am held back by this seal on your smooth stomach."

Hikari nodded, 'So, how do we beat him?'

The Kyuubi raised an eyebrow at that question, "How do you think? You can use up to three tails of my chakra, that kid is only drawing up to one tail's worth of chakra, if you want to put it in our measurements. Three to one, thats simple maths, no?"

Hikari sighed, 'Fine, I guess you're right. Thanks, Kyuubi.'

The Bijuu hmph'd, "Whatever, just beat some sense into that brother of mine, and pray that he doesn't come out."

Hikari nodded as she stepped forward. Asuna asked, "Hikari-chan?"

The daughter of the Yondaime Hokage spoke, "Right now, I can beat him."

Sasuke didn't believe her one bit, "Don't joke around! How can you even touch him?"

Hikari didn't reply. Instead, she allowed the Kyuubi's chakra to flow through her body. The red chakra leaked out and started to form a rough outline of a fox, with Hikari's twin tails flowing and floating in the 'ears' of the chakra cloak.

Sasuke stared at the girl in shock. He could practically feel the power oozing off of her. It felt dark and dangerous, a bit different compared to the cursed seal, and it didn't feel out of control like the cursed mark.

Asuna smiled softly, "I guess we all got some power up modes huh?"

She focused, allowing nature chakra to enter her body. Then she transformed. Her hair turned light blue, her eyes taking on the same colour. Her ears also turned slightly pointy as energy poured out of her.

The transformation surprised Sasuke yet again. He thought, 'How do they have so much power?!'

He wanted that kind of power, it would help him kill Itachi, and in his opinion, help him gain Hikari's favour.

But that wasn't the most important thing now. Unfortunately for the last Uchiha however, he was broken out of his musings, quite literally, as Gaara's sand arm shot outwards and slammed into Sasuke's chest, sending him crashing into a tree. But that wasn't the end, the force was so huge, Sasuke crashed through the tree and struck another tree, falling unconscious from the impact.

The two girls glanced at him in worry, but saw he wasn't hurt much. Hikari glanced at Asuna and they nodded at each other.

The Kyuubi grinned, looking forward to seeing Hikari trash Gaara around. Temari could feel the power the three of them exerted, and it was terrifying. She knew Hikari and Gaara were both Jinchurikii, but Asuna clearly wasn't one, so the power Asuna released surprised the girl more.

The three then charged. Gaara sent his arm at the two girls, but they dodged it easily. In terms of agility and mobility, Asuna and Hikari easily won, in terms of strength and pure power, the girls were also above him.

Asuna poured water chakra into her blade as it took on a light bluish glow. The girl charged and thrust her blade forward.

Gaara instinctively raised a sand wall. But the water chakra and the speed plus force behind the thrust broke through the wall easily, leaving a relatively big hole on the redhead's sand arm.

Gaara growled and started to regenerate the arm, but Hikari stepped in. A Chidori ignited in her right arm and she vanished. The sand arm exploded, revealing Gaara's normal arm as Hikari appeared behind him, her Chidori dying out.

But the two girls weren't done. Quickly taking advantage of Gaara's shock at the lack of his sand arm, Hikari and Asuna spun and gave the Ichibi Jinchurikii a kick to the gut and sent him flying into a tree.

Temari looked on worried for her brother. She couldn't possibly help him, she would just get in the way.

Gaara shot out of the tree and charged Hikari and Asuna. He conjured up two huge sand arms and swung them at the two girls.

Hikari responded by making two huge chakra arms while Asuna sheathed her rapier and flashed through hand seals, "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!"

The chakra arm and the water dragon clashed with the sand arm. To Temari's surprise and Gaara's shock, the water dragon and the chakra arms shredded the sand arms apart before they shot towards the redhead.

Gaara dodged the attacks barely as he accesses the situation, surprisingly thinking calmly, 'I can't beat them. I must use it.'

The Ichibi laughed maniacally in his head, "YES! KILL THEM ALL!"

Gaara held his head in pain before he quickly made the thickest dome he could, and started to go through handseals.

The Kyuubi sensed it and yelled in Hikari's head, "STOP HIM NOW!"

Hikari quickly made a Rasengan and charged, Asuna following her with her rapier. The two slammed their attacks on the dome, ripping it to pieces.

But they were too late. The dome shattered, revealing Gaara at his final seal, "Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu."

Right before Hikari's Rasengan and Asuna's rapier reached Gaara, chakra exploded from the redhead.

The two girls, including Temari and the unconscious Sasuke were thrown back by the explosive force of the chakra. Miraculously, Sasuke landed safely on another branch while Temari landed and barely stabilized herself on another large branch.

Hikari conjured up chakra chains and held onto one of the trees and Asuna before they could get blown away.

Their eyes widened as they laid their eyes on a massive being in front of them. It was huge, made of sand, with seals running across its body.

In front of them, stood the Shukaku. The Ichibi roared as he laughed, "FINALLY! I'M FREE!"

The Kyuubi spoke, "Well, he did it. I can't help you as I am now, you should quickly summon those dragons."

Hikari nodded and bit her thumb, smearing her palm with blood as she flashed through handseals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Smoke covered the area as Hikari and Asuna stood at Gaara's level. The two stood on a grey dragon, the dragon spoke, "Hikari, its about time you summoned me. Oh, is that Shukaku?"

Hikari smiled forcedfully, "Bahamut-sama, sorry, but well, we have to beat him."

The dragon nodded, "Its fine. So, let's get started. Shall we?"

Hikari nodded before she turned to Asuna who had deactivated her sage mode, "Asuna-chan, hold on tight."

Before the girl could say anything, the dragon charged the Ichibi. Shukaku grinned, "Oh, a workout? Come on then!"

Bahamut responded by breathing out a torrent of white flames at the raccoon. The Shukaku reacted by raising a wall of sand, but the flames were too hot and turned the sand to glass.

The Ichibi growled, breaking himself from the glass. But he turned to see Bahamut's tail in his face, the attack sending him flying for quite a distance before he landed.

The Shukaku growled and channeled chakra into his mouth, "Fuuton: Renkuudan!"

The bijuu blasted a wave of pressurised wind the size of boulders at the dragon. Asuna gaped in awe, "Those air bullets... That size!"

Hikari nodded in agreement, "That thing is a monster..."

Bahamut chuckled as he heard the girls reactions, "Well, this is what happens with massive beings like us. Its actually equal in proportion to what you usually use."

The Kyuubi agreed in Hikari's seal, "He's right. Its like comparing your perspective to that of an insect, if they could use jutsu like you did."

Hikari nodded as she started to think about it, "I see."

The Kyuubi smirked, "Don't space off now girl, Shukaku's coming."

The girl blinked before she realized Bahamut was engaging Shukaku in a fist fight. Well, somewhat of a fist fight. The dragon swung his arm. But the instant the arm touched Shukaku, sand started to wrap around the arm.

Bahamut tch'd and breathed fire onto the sand, turning it to glass as he broke the glass to pieces. The dragon flapped his wings and flew up, breathing more fire to turn the Shukaku's sand to glass.

The one tailed Bijuu growles before he channeled chakra to his mouth, red and blue chakra gathering into one point. Bahamut saw this and spole, "Hikari, Asuna, brace yourselves, the next attack will settle things."

The girls blinked in confusion before Bahamut gathered energy in his mouth, causing it to glow white. Then Shukaku unleashed the Bijuudama while Bahamut breathed out the strongest blast of energy he could.

The two attacks collided and caused a huge explosion that engulfed a huge chunk of the forest, though not too much since the explosion occured mid air. . It was a miracle that Sasuke and Temari were barely outside the blast radius.

The blast subsided, revealing the Shukaku to have lost half his body, with his head and Gaara intact, most likely because he had shielded his head. Bahamut, Hikari and Asuna were safe because they were high up in the sky.

The dragon frowned, "Thats a bijuu for you. Such a huge explosion and he still isn't down."

Then he noticed it, "Hmm? There's a boy on the Shukaku's head."

Hikari and Asuna blinked before they saw Gaara sticking out of the Ichibi's head. The Kyuubi realized it and yelled in Hikari's head, "OH! I see! Because the seal is so weak, Shukaku can come out once the brat sleeps."

Hikari winced before she glared at him mentally, 'Could you not yell? And what does that mean?'

The Kyuubi chuckled, "Well, if sleeping releases that racoon, what would the reverse do?"

Hikari blinked several times before she remembered what jutsu Gaara used. She facepalmed, "I'm an idiot. Bahamut, can you wake him up somehow?"

The dragon blinked, "I can't... But I believe you two can."

Asuna asked, "How so?"

Bahamut grinned, "I'll leave that to you. All you need to do is wake him up. That's it."

Hikari nodded, "Got it. I'll just give him a good punch."

Bahamut and Asuna sweatdropped at her response, while the Kyuubi chuckled in approval. Bahamut looked at the bijuu, "Hikari, I need you to chain him down."

The Uzumaki blinked, "Umm, I don't think I can bind something that big yet."

The dragon grinned, "Don't worry. Just channel the chains through me."

The girl nodded and placed both palms on the dragon. Bahamut landed on the ground and both summon and summoner unleashed a huge wave of chains that wrapped around Shukaku.

The bijuu growled as it tried to use its sand, but the Uzumaki chains prevented him from doing so, restraining him. Bahamut spoke, "Do it now, I can hold the chains for a minute."

The two girls nodded as they ran and jumped to the Shukaku's head. The bijuu blinked as he felt the girls land on his head, "Ah? What are you two doing?"

The girls ignored him as they charged Gaara, pulling back their fists. The Ichibi yelled, "NO DON'T!"

He tried to use his sand to restrain the girls, but he was too late. The two girls roared as they slammed their fists into Gaara's face, the force of the punch flinging him off the head of the Ichibi.

As soon as the Jinchurikii left the Ichibi's head, the Shukaku started to crumble to pieces. The bijuu cried, "NO! I JUST CAME OUT! FUCK YOU!"

Then, the bijuu fell into a huge sea of sand. Bahamut chuckled as he reached out to catch Hikari, Asuna and Gaara, "Not bad."

He placed the three humans down, "Well, my job is done. I'll be leaving now."

Hikari and Asuna nodded as the dragon poofed out of existence. The two then looked at Gaara who woke up.

The redhead quickly backed away, fear in his eyes, "Don't come near me!"

The two girls were confused. One second he was a psycho, the next he was like a scared child. The Kyuubi spoke, "Its because you defeated Shukaku, well, not exactly defeated him, but you resealed him. The kid has probably been relying too much on the tanuki."

Hikari nodded as she said, "Calm down. Its over."

Asuna blinked in confusion, "Eh? What are you talking about?"

Hikari looked at him. She knew they were both Jinchurikii, but she also knew he had it worse compared to her. The Jinchurikii of the Kyuubi spoke, "He's like me. But he had it a lot worse. Gaara, you were alone, you felt alone, didn't you?"

The Ichibi Jinchurikii's eyes widened before he regained his composure and replied, "Yes, that's why I must kill, for myself, to prove my existence."

Asuna realized what was going on, but she kept silent. Hikari asked Gaara, "I know I don't have the right to say this. But, were you really alone?"

Gaara was confused and he glared at the girl, "What do you mean? I had no one. Everyone hated me, they wanted to kill me! That's why I will kill them first!"

The blonde shook her head, "You know, you don't have to look too far."

As if on cue, Temari jumped down and landed in front of her brother, relief on her face, "Gaara!"

The girl turned glared at the two other girls, taking out her fan in a defensive pose, "I won't let you touch him!"

Hikari shook her head, "Its over. Besides, he's like me. But he had it worse."

Then, Suguha and Sinon landed in front of them, with a tied up Kankuro with them. Sinon sighed, "So, you're all fine. This clown wouldn't shut up about finding Gaara after that sand thing dissolved."

Hikari and Asuna nodded to them before the Uzumaki looked at her fellow Jinchurikii, "I told you, right? You don't have to look too far. Your brother and sister, they care for you at least. If not, then as a fellow Jinchurikii, I can always be your friend and a sister."

Gaara's eyes widened as he nodded, "Fine. I surrender."

Temari looked at her brother in surprise, then she saw the look in his eyes. They were different. They didn't have the crazed look anymore, they were calm.

Then, before they could continue, the Kyuubi spoke in Hikari's mind, "By the way, aren't you gonna check his seal? I mean, with the level you are at, you can easily make a five point seal right?"

The girl nodded, only then remembering the reason Shukaku could come out was due to a shitty seal. The girl looked at Gaara, "By the way, Gaara, can you show me your seal?"

The redhead blinked in confusion before he turned and showed her a seal on his back. The girl saw the seal and instantly the temperature around them dropped several degrees.

Everyone looked at Hikari in fear as her hair started to rise, "They call this a seal? This piece of trash held back the Shukaku?"

The girl unsealed her sealing equipment and pushed Gaara onto the ground, making him sit upright, "Its a miracle Gaara is even alive now."

She started to draw seals around Gaara's seal, then, the seal vanished and Hikari quickly applied a new seal, a five point seal as suggested by the Kyuubi, since it was way stronger than the one Gaara had and could no doubt hold back the Ichibi.

In less than 5 minutes, the girl was done and Gaara felt as if a huge burden was lifted from him. The redhead looked at his fellow Jinchurikii, "I can't hear the Shukaku anymore... What did you do?"

Hikari smiled at him, "I changed your seal. The Ichibi is properly sealed in you now."

Her expression turned dark, "Now, who was the one who sealed the Shukaku in you?"

She looked at the two other Suna siblings who both gulped in fear. Temari answered, "Lady Chiyo did. She's one of the elders of our village."

Hikari nodded, smiling sweetly and dangerously, "I see. Then, after this is over. If Konoha still stands, we will be having a nice chat about seals."

The three siblings just nodded while Asuna, Sinon and Suguha had awkward smiles on their faces as they left the forest to go back to the village.

XXX

Done. So next chapter. The fight with Orochimaru. What will happen next? Please look forward to it. And review please. Until next time.

And if you're interested, please go check my profile for my next project.


	21. Chapter 21

HELLO!!! Okay, so this is the 21st chapter. Now, good point there, **Guest-questioner** , so if I were to add UBW, there will not be the whole 'copy skills' op shit. If I give Kirito UBW, he will only be able to use them with his own skills.

The reality marble will only be used to create unlimited blades with their special abilities. He can use their special abilities. But he won't gain the past wielders' skills and knowledge. And besides, he won't spam it. UBW will be, if he has it, a very taxing skill. It will probably take up 80% of his reserves every time he activates it.

But that is not important yet, we still have ways to go before Kirito reaches the end of the Aincrad arc, so no UBW for now. I will put up a poll to determine if Kirito should get it or not... Soon. So please vote.

XXX

With Kirito, after killing Baki, he was flying around the village searching for Jiraiya. But it was hopeless, the whole village was in chaos. He could see many Konoha shinobi fighting, hell he even saw toad summons fighting the giant snake summons.

But no Jiraiya. He flew towards the toads, but Jiraiya was not there. Kirito cursed, for every second he searched for Jiraiya, for every second he wasted, Hiruzen's life slowly burned away.

After a few minutes, Kirito looked back at the barrier. He couldn't rely on Jiraiya anymore. He could see Hikari's dragon summon fighting the Shukaku at a distance, and he knew she was also fighting.

The swordsman made his decision. He shot towards the barrier. As Kirito stopped in front of the barrier, he thought, 'The barrier is made to keep intruders out. And its a fire based barrier. So..'

He approached the barrier, ignoring the warnings the Konoha ANBU sent him. The swordsman raised both swords as they glowed blue.

Kirito silently thought, 'Channel water chakra through the swords...'

The swords glowed a slighter watery blue, and he swung.

Earlier in the barrier, Hiruzen stared at his student in disguise, "So, Orochimaru, you finally decide to move."

The 'Kazekage' chuckled, "Nothing ever escapes you, Sarutobi-sensei."

Hiruzen just stared at him, "Its time to end this."

He threw his Hokage robes away, revealing his armor. Orochimaru laughed as he too threw away his robes, "Ah, but its just the beginning."

Hiruzen unsealed a fuuma shuriken from a seal in his gauntlets and threw it hard at Orochimaru. Right after it left his hand, the Hokage flashed through a series of handseals, "Shuriken Kage Bunshin!"

The shuriken split into a hundred as they sped towards the Hebi Sannin. Orochimaru responded with a jutsu of his own, "Fuuton: Daitoppa."

He unleashed a dome of wind that blocked all the shuriken. Orochimaru chuckled, "I see you haven't gotten rusty."

The sannin took out the Kusanagi and charged his teacher. The snake swung his sword and clashed against Hiruzen's gauntlet.

The Hokage tch'd as the sword chipped through his armor. The old man spun and kicked Orochimaru away as he flashed through handseals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Smoke clouded the area as a monkey appeared. The monkey stared at Hiruzen, "So, its time to end it?"

The old Hokage nodded, "Yeah. Its time to correct my mistakes, Enma."

The monkey king nodded as he turned into a black staff. Hiruzen grasped it as he stared at his former student.

Orochimaru grinned, "Oh, its been a while since I've seen you use your staff. Are you sure you haven't gotten rusty with it?"

Hiruzen chuckled humourlessly, "You're two million years too early to worry, young padawan."

Orochimaru smiled coldly, "Oh, let's put that to the test then."

The student charged his teacher. Orochimaru swung his sword at Hiruzen. The bo master blocked the strike before he spun and swung his staff, striking Orochimaru and flinging him away.

The sannin growled at the Hokage as he quickly stood up. But Hiruzen was already in front of him. The bo staff enlarged until it was the size of a pillar, then Hiruzen swung.

The sannin was, once again, flung away. It was only due to him using his snakes to grab hold of the roof, with the fact that he stabbed his sword on the ground, that the snake sannin didn't get burn to death by the barrier he set.

Orochimaru steadied himself and saw Hiruzen charging him. The sannin swung his sword and clashed against the staff that was the boss summon of the monkeys. Orochimaru quickly pulled back, spinning and swung his sword.

He would have beheaded his teacher, if not for the fact that there was a black staff in his way. The sword clashed against the staff once again as Hiruzen commented, "You've gotten better. But, its still nonot enough."

Orochimaru chuckled, "I know. But you know me, I always come prepared."

Hiruzen didn't reply as he pushed Orochimaru's sword away and spun, slamming his staff into Orochimaru. But instead of sending the long haired man flying, Orochimaru turned into mud as he appeared some distance away.

The sannin smirked, "Its been a nice chat. The village is being destroyed, and while I seriously didn't expect a dragon of all things to defeat the Shukaku. So, I suppose its time to give you a present I've been saving."

The sannin bit his thumb and smeared his palm with blood, he then went through a series of seals," Kuchiyose: Edo-"

Before he could finish his jutsu however, the an X shape rip appeared in the barrier. Then, the rip enlarged as a teen clad in black shot straight in.

Orochimaru jumped up to avoid a black and light blue sword as Kirito landed in front of them.

A smile broke into Orochimaru's face while Hiruzen was shocked to see Kirito enter through the now closing barrier.

The sannin laughed, "You really do have a death wish, don't you, BOY?!"

Kirito just glared at him while Hiruzen asked sternly, "What are you doing here?"

The young man answered as Hiruzen walked to his side, "I'm here to help. I was gonna look for Jiraiya, but I couldn't find him."

The old Hokage sighed, "Fine. But be careful, this is Orochimaru we're facing."

Kirito nodded and readied his stance. But before they could charge, Orochimaru quickly finished his final seal and slammed his arm onto the ground, "Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei!"

Two coffins rose from the ground before Hiruzen could do anything, and the Sandaime Hokage was shocked at what Orochimaru had summoned, or rather, who he had summoned.

In front of them, were two coffins, one with the kanji for 'one', the second with the kanji for 'two'. Orochimaru cackled, "Behold, the Shodaime and Niidaime HOKAGE!"

Hiruzen cursed, "You completed Tobirama-sensei's jutsu?"

Orochimaru smirked, "Indeed I did. So, how will you fight against them, Kirito-kun, Sarutobi-sensei?"

Hiruzen kept his eye on Hashirama and Tobirama, "Kirito, stay away from the two Hokage. If they are as strong as their prime, you will die the instant you face them. Fight Orochimaru, but keep your distance. The Edo Tensei is a jutsu that summons the dead, but you don't need to kill them to dispel the jutsu, once I find a way to seal them, we will kill Orochimaru. "

The swordsman nodded before the Shodaime spoke, "Saru, is that you?"

Hiruzen nodded sadly, "Yes, Hashirama-sama."

The first Hokage chuckled, "You've grown old."

Tobirama spoke, "So, we've been summoned, by my own jutsu."

The Niidaime's brother stared at him, "I told you to not make that jutsu, but you haaaad to do it."

Tobirama huffed, "It was an idea. But more importantly, Saru, you're not the one to summon us, right?"

Orochimaru spoke, "That would be me, Shodaime-sama, Niidaime-sama. We're going to destroy Konoha, isn't that great?"

The two Hokage stared at the smiling Sannin. But before they could say anything, Orochimaru held up a handseal to hold the two in place.

The snake sannin spoke, "I can't have you killing me, ya know? As two former Hokage, it would be common sense to help your village. So I made two seals."

He approached the two Hokage and stabbed two kunai wrapped with seals into their heads, the kunai sinking into their heads.

Hiruzen readied himself as he saw the glow die out in his two teachers' eyes, "Kirito, get ready. I will face the two of them. I want you to keep Orochimaru busy and stay alive."

Kirito nodded as he stared at the snake sannin. Orochimaru chuckled, "Not a bad idea, come then. Let's see how strong you really are, Kirito."

Kirito didn't reply as he charged the sannin. The young man swung his swords and clashed against the Kusanagi. However, knowing the famous trait of the sannin's sword, Kirito pulled back, using the momentum to spin and kick Orochimaru away.

The sannin chuckled as he steadied himself, "Not bad. Show me more. Prove to me that the Konoha ninja aren't as weak as I thought, prove to me that Sasuke-kun isn't the only one who is worthy!"

Kirito growled, he was being looked down, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The blacksmith calmed himself and slid into his stance before charged again.

As Kirito fought Orochimaru, Hiruzen stared at the blank faces of his two late teachers. The Sandaime charged, flashing through a set of seals, "Katon: Goryuka no Jutsu!"

Tobirama responded with his own jutsu, "Suiton: Suijinheki!"

The stream of fire collided with the wall of water, creating steam that blurred the area. But the Niidaime wasn't done, he went through another set of seals, "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!"

A dragon made of water charged at Hiruzen. But that wasn't all, at the same time, Hashirama went through a set of seals, "Mokuton: Mokuryu no Jutsu!"

A wooden dragon sprouted out of the ground and shot towards the old Hokage along with the water dragon.

The Sarutobi slammed his staff on the floor and went through a series of handseals, "Doton: Doryuheki!"

A wall of mud rose from the ground, blocking the water dragon, but it wasn't enough the block the wood dragon. As the wooden dragon shot through the wall, Hiruzen leaped away, grabbing his staff.

The old Hokage spoke, "Enma, extend!"

The staff extended and crushed the wooden dragon to pieces and charged at Hashirama and Tobirama. The Shodaime and Niidaime leaped away to avoid the strike before Hashirama went through a set of seals.

Hiruzen's eyes widened as his former teacher announced his technique, "Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan."

Instantly, a forest formed on the roof, to the surprise of the ANBU outside. Kirito and Orochimaru were not too affected as they fought just outside of the forest, but it just prevented Kirito from helping Hiruzen and vice versa.

Hiruzen willed Enma to form a cage around him just in time to block the incoming branches that would have skewered him. Enma asked in worry, "Hiruzen, are you alright?"

Hiruzen chuckled as he started to pant, "I'm not. I really am getting old."

He thought, 'At this rate I don't think I can live past this. Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sensei are still too strong for me. I'll probably have to use that jutsu, its the only seal I know that is strong enough to hold them.'

He was broken out his musings quite literally as the reanimated Tobirama announced, "Genjutsu: Kokuangyo no Jutsu!"

Instantly, darkness surrounded Hiruzen as the Niidaime Hokage casted the genjutsu over him. Hiruzen hoped Kirito wouldn't be affected since the jutsu could be used on multiple targets.

The old Kage let out a breath, he needed to end this quick. His chakra reserves weren't what they were at his prime, so he couldn't use his jutsus the way he did in the past.

Hiruzen stabbed Enma on the roof and placed his hands in a t-shaped seal, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Two shadow clones appeared and Hiruzen raised his arm to block several strikes, most probably from Tobirama before he was flung to the ground, probably from an attack from Hashirama.

Miraculously the clones were left untouched. The clones quickly went through a series of handseals. As the clones were still a part of him, Hiruzen felt the link with the Shinigami, "Fuinjutsu: Shiki Fuujin."

He looked back to see the imposing figure, with two blurry copies behind his clones, staring at him. The blurry copies reached out to where his clones supposedly were, and pierced their back.

The Sandaime felt a small sting at his gut and knew the link between the clones and the death god was complete.

Hiruzen then heard his clones grab hold of something, and judging from the chakra signatures, the clones had caught the two reanimated Hokage.

Hiruzen sighed, he didn't know what would happen after this. According to Minato and Kushina, the Shiki Fuujin was a sealing jutsu that sealed something into the user's body at the cost of his or her life. But no one knew what would happen if the user was a Kage Bunshin.

It would also seem the god knew that, and Hiruzen knew it was angry at him. But that wasn't his greatest concern now. He could feel the clones grabbing hold of Hashirama and Tobirama's souls, and he felt sorry to do that to his former senseis.

As soon as the clones pulled out half of the Niidaime Hokage's soul, the genjutsu vanished, revealing their surroundings.

The first Hokage smiled sadly at his successor, "Sorry, Saru. We've caused you a lot of trouble."

Tobirama nodded before he chuckled, "Yeah. But, you've grown old."

Hiruzen smiled weakly, "Hey, I still lived a good life. The will of fire burns brightly even now, Tobirama-sensei, Hashirama-sama."

The two former Hokage nodded as they started to fade. Hashirama spoke, "Regardless of the circumstances, it was nice seeing you again, Saru."

Tobirama nodded in agreement before they both faded. Hiruzen felt the two clones disperse, but the chakra and that piece of his soul leave him. He fell to one knee as Hiruzen felt weakened from the loss of a part of his soul.

He then heard the Shinigami growl, and somehow Hiruzen knew, because he used the clones, the soul in the clones were used for payment. It also meant his already short lifespan was shortened even more, and he would probably have approximately a year at most.

The jutsu dispelled as the Shinigame released its hold. Then, Hiruzen heard Kirito yell in pain.

A few moments ago, after Hiruzen was caught in the genjutsu, Kirito was sending slashes after slashes at Orochimaru.

The blacksmith landed after several failed attacks and thought, 'If it keeps up like this, I can't win. I need something that can blow him away.'

His sword skills were out of question. If he used them, his swords would break from the Kusanagi once Orochimaru inevitably parried them. So that left him with his spells.

Kirito activated his Acceleration and appeared behind Orochimaru, to the Sannin's glee. The Sannin thought, 'There it is again, it looks so much like the Hiraishin, yes, show me more.'

Kirito then focused his chakra as he thought, 'Hopefully this works, I haven't really tried it out yet. But this might have enough power.'

Two spheres of chakra appeared under his hands and the hilts of his swords as he held them out. The spheres faded as they entered his swords.

Kirito stared at Orochimaru before he vanished. After that, if anyone were to observe from a side, they would see a blur of black and light blue as a million lines appeared around Orochimaru.

After a few seconds, Kirito appeared behind Orochimaru, the black swordsman panting heavily as Orochimaru fell to the ground in pieces.

The technique was an improved version of the Eclipse sword skill. Using the Enhance spell to strengthen his body and the using the Acceleration, he would incresse speed hundredfold. The combination of both spells would negate the red glow and strengthen his swords at the same time, but it took a lot out of him.

Kirito panted in relief as he saw Orochimaru's corpse... Or rather body pieces, unmoving. But his eyes widened as the pieces melted into mud, the real Sannin appearing from the roof some distance away.

The sannin laughed, "That's it! You've proven me wrong once again! YOU, my boy ARE WORTHY."

Before he could do anything, Orochimaru's head shot forward, his neck extending to insane lengths. Then, he bit Kirito's neck, channeling chakra into the blacksmith as he screamed in pain.

Orochimaru released him as the curse mark formed at where he bit Kirito. The sannin laughed as Kirito fell to the ground, grabbing his neck in pain.

The sannin cracked his neck and turned to see Hiruzen extending his staff at him. The old man roared, albeit a bit weakly, "What have you done?!"

Orochimaru laughed as he jumped away, parrying the staff with his sword. The sannin landed, "Why, he will be my vessel of course. Same as our young Uchiha. I wonder though, since they both fancy Minato's lil girl, will they come to me if I take her?"

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at him, "Touch any of them, I assure you I will make you wish you were dead."

His student laughed, "I'd like to see you try. But, let me show you something."

Orochimaru reached up to his face and placed his hand over it. Then, to everyone's surprise, he ripped his own face off, revealing the face of a young woman.

Hiruzen stared in shock, "What... Who are you?"

The 'woman' said in Orochimaru's voice, "I'm hurt, Sarutobi-sensei, you can't even recognize me?"

Enma spoke from the staff, "So, he's completed it. I told you you should have killed him."

Hiruzen stayed silent as Orochimaru grinned, "Indeed he should have. I transplanted my own vocal cords because... well I am rather fond of my own voice. But seeing Kirito and Sasuke, I think I won't need a mask or any changes."

Hiruzen glared at his former student, "You're a monster."

The sannin laughed, "Indeed I am, its all for science, for everything. The Niidaime Hokage sought to bring back the dead, I succeeded with that. So I took a step further, IMMORTALITY!"

Orochimaru calmed down, "And I'm almost there. This is just the beginning, transferring my soul between vessels, is just the beginning. You taught us that sacrifices had to be made, didn't you?"

Hiruzen just glared at him, "I have made many mistakes in my life, you are probably one of the greatest mistakes I have made."

Orochimaru smiled coldly before his former teacher charged. But it was for naught, Orochimaru merely spun and kicked Hiruzen away. The sannin spoke coldly, "I am not a mistake. I WAS, AND STILL AM YOUR FINEST STUDENT! EVERYTHING YOU TAUGHT ME, EVERYTHING I HAVE NOW IS BECAUSE OF YOU!"

Hiruzen coughed out blood, "Indeed, you were. I taught you almost everything, but I failed... to teach you about humanity."

Orochimaru just stared coldly at his former teacher, "We are ninja, we live in a world built on bloodshed. Humanity has no place here."

Hiruzen chuckled, "But this village was built on that, you cannot deny."

Orochimaru walked over to him and looked at him coldly. Enma returned to his original form and tried to pounce at him, but Orochimaru merely pierced the monkey with his sword, sending him back to the summoning realm.

The student stared at his former teacher as he pulled Hiruzen up, "I can, and I will. And you, sensei, will have the front seat."

Orochimaru swung his sword arm. But he didn't slash at Hiruzen, Orochimaru merely used the hilt of his sword to knock him out.

The sannin turned to Kirito, the young man still grasping his neck in pain, "You see, Kirito. This is what happens, when you are weak. Sarutobi-sensei made a mistake, he believed my work was wrong. I beliebe you won't make the same mistake. Join me."

Kirito growled in pain, "Fuck you. I will never join you."

Orochimaru sighed, "I have already had enough of this shit, you will join me, you can't even raise your swords. Either you come with me willingly, or I destroy everyone you care about in this village, then take you with me forcefully."

Kirito glared at him, he could feel anger boiling in him. The curse mark burned on his neck as the marks started to form around his body.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, "You can already use it? I'm impressed. But, what can you do at that state? Your whole body should be in pain, weakened by the curse mark."

Unknown to the snake sannin, the chakra from the curse mark was changing from dark purple, to pure black. Kirito grabbed his swords and stood up shakily, "Shut up... I swore on my blood, that I would protect them. Even if I have to destroy the world, I won't let you place a finger near them!"

The young man roared as power poured out of him, to Orochimaru's shock. The sannin said in awe, "How can he exert that much power?"

Then he saw it. Kirito's eyes were glowing yellow with power. Orochimaru thought, 'This power, is it his blood from the Underworld?'

Then Kirito vanished. Orochimaru's eyes widened as he backed away just in time to avoid decapitation. Kirito vanished again, this time appearing behind him.

Orochimaru cursed as he swung his sword at Kirito. But Kirito's swords glowed, then the Kusanagi met the Elucidator and Dark Repulsor. To Orochimaru's shock, the Grass Cutter shattered into pieces. But before he could think how, Kirito was moving again.

The swordsman jumped and kicked him away. Then he landed and sheathed his swords. The young man placed his left arm into a fist at his waist and held his arm at his chest in a single ram seal.

Kirito unleashed his wings, the wings glowing with energy. Then he unleashed a huge sphere made of magic circles.

Orochimaru could only watch in awe as he was blown away by the sphere of circles. Then, the circles gathered to form a triangle, made of a blue, green and red circle.

The triangle shot towards Orochimaru and captured him in the center before he could do anything. The sannin cursed as he struggled to get free, to no avail.

Then, three pillars of energy rose from each circle, sending beams of water chakra, fire chakra and wind chakra at him. Orochimaru could only scream in pain as the beams almost ripped him to shreds.

But Kirito wasn't done. He raised both arms as a dozen black and white magic circles appeared around him. Then, dark and light energy shot out of the circles towards Orochimaru.

The snake sannin screamed in pain as it felt like his very soul was being burned and destroyed. He quickly focused, which was almost impossible with the amount of pain he was experiencing, and substituted with a mud clone.

Soon, the spell ended, and needless to say, the roof where Orochimaru once was, was totally obliterated. The sannin panted as he rose from the roof at the other end of the barrier. Orochimaru spoke, "Open the barrier NOW!"

The four Oto ninja obliged as the barrier fell. Then before the Anbu could do anything, Orochimaru and the sound four vanished. Then, as soon as Orochimaru vanished, Kirito fell to the ground unconscious.

The Anbu quickly went to check on the Hokage, relieved that he was still alive but merely unconscious. They also checked on Kirito. The young man was fine, with injuries here and there. But they still couldn't believe the amount of power that he exerted just now. It was unreal to them.

Meanwhile, throughout the village, the Konoha shinobi were fighting back against the Suna and Oto shinobi. Then, as they fought, Hikari, Asuna, Sinon, Suguha, Kankuro, Gaara and Temari arrived at the village with a still unconscious Sasuke.

Asuna spoke, "We need to stop them."

Hikari, Suguha and Sinon nodded. The archer glanced at Gaara and his siblings warily before the Ichibi Jinchurikii spoke, "We won't fight Konoha anymore. Hikari helped me. Killing alone, won't prove my existence."

Sinon nodded, albeit a bit skeptically. Then Gaara spoke out, "We will kill the Oto shinobi. Those Suna shinobi... I do not care... much. They either survive or they die, but it will be by the Konoha ninja's hands."

Hikari blinked at his words, before she noticed it, "I don't think we need to fight."

The others blinked in confusion before they saw it. The fighting was almost over. Apart from the area in front of them, if you looked around, the Suna shinobi and Oto shinobi were either beaten or killed.

Suguha nodded, "At least we won't have to fight anymore. Come on, let's go help them, the village is quite banged up."

No one objected as they started to help the survivors, more specifically the civilians. Though the Konoha ninja were weary about Gaara, Temari and Kankuro, after a bit persuasion from Hikari, they accepted their help.

However, regardless of the survival of Konoha and the failure of the invasion, no one knew, nor did they expect the things that would happen in a few months later.

XXX

Done. So review please. Yes, I gave Kirito the curse mark. And for the spell he used, watch Xelguard's ultimate attack from SRWX. Its something like that.

So yeah, since I already have a poll for the next story I'm doing, I will replace it with the poll for Kirito getting UBW or not. So yeah, please vote. And until next chapter.


	22. Chapter 22

Hey. **Guest-questioner** , for the first time he uses it, it will cost around 80% of his full reserves. Of course, the more he uses it, the lesser the cost will be. But since it takes that much, it will only be used as a last resort or a hissatsu technique, at least until Kirito grows strong enough.

Speaking of which, I have posted the poll, so please vote. The poll will end after the equivalent of the 'Sasuke retrieval' arc.

XXX

A week has passed after the failed invasion. The remaining Suna shinobi that were captured, including Gaara and his siblings were sent back to Sunagakure.

Of course, the Sand village had to provide compensation for betraying their alliance. It was only because of the fact that the Yondaime Kazekage was killed by Orochimaru, and the fact that Orochimaru had manipulated the whole village to attack Konoha, that the village didn't declare war upon Suna.

Most of the damage was being quickly repaired after that. The villagers were more than ready to rebuild their village after getting supplies from nearby villages, with many shinobi helping.

Hiruzen was still unconscious. Jiraiya and the shinobi council were clueless as to what to do. While Hiruzen was and still is a great Hokage, they knew he was nearing his end, and they needed a new Hokage.

Now, they were having a meeting again. Shikaku sighed, "So, what do we do now? Hokage-sama is still out, even if the village is being repaired nicely."

Danzo spoke neutrally, "Hiruzen's time is almost over, we need a new Hokage."

Most of the clan heads knew where he was going, after all, it wasn't a secret that Danzo had yearned for that position for decades. Tsume retorted, "Are you talking about yourself?"

Danzo eye-smiled, "I didn't say anything about that, but if need be I will take it. Regardless of my desire for the position, its the truth, Hiruzen can't protect the village as he is now, we need a new Hokage. Do you guys have any idea on who to choose?"

The 'Apart from myself' was unspoken, but they knew he was hinting at that. Then Jiraiya spoke, "Actually, there is someone."

Everyone looked at him and Hiashi asked, "Who would that be?"

Jiraiya smirked, "Tsunade."

Shikaku, Inoichi and Chouza nodded in understanding. Tsume also expressed her agreement while Hiashi just nodded neutrally. Danzo, Homura and especially Koharu, however, had different thoughts.

The war hawk frowned, "Tsunade? You would entrust the village to her?"

Koharu added, "She left the village. She might not even be loyal to the village anymore. We cannot risk a potential traitor as Hokage."

Homaru just nodded in agreement. Jiraiya just stared at them, "Tsunade, is a Senju, _the_ last remaining Senju on the planet. Her clan, along with the Uchiha clan, and with help from the Uzumaki clan, built this very village you live in."

Everyone knew of the bad blood between Koharu and Tsunade. Hell, none of the elders had a good relationship with the last Senju. Tsunade was always pissed at them for their arrogance with their power, and it was because of them deciding power was more important, they overpowered Hiruzen and rejected her proposal for a medical team.

Shikaku spoke, "To be honest, our village isn't what it was. Konohagakaure was known to be strong due to our S-ranked ninja. Yondaime-sama and Sandaime-sama are gone. The only S-ranked ninja here is Jiraiya-sama. If we can get Tsunade-sama back, the other villages won't target us, when we are recovering."

The others all nodded in agreement. Danzo seethed. The shinobi council normally didn't do much, since the Hokage handled most of the stuff. The shinobi council would only act when there was a war or of the acting Hokage was unavailable.

The two other elders were also displeased. They had hoped, that the clan heads would just leave the decision to them. But it was just a wishful way of thinking.

Danzo then got an idea, maybe he could send his Ne Anbu and assassinate Tsunade then take the Hokage's position for himself. The warhawk spoke, "Very well, I will send some of my personal Anbu to find her."

Once again, Jiraiya didn't seem to let him do as he pleased, "That's alright, I was planning to go find her anyways. Besides, our medics can't do shit about Hokage-sama, so Tsunade will be needed. She wouldn't refuse helping him."

Hiashi nodded, "That would be for the best. We will need our best medic to be back here."

The other clan heads nodded in agreement while the three elders growled to themselves. Things just weren't going their way it seemed.

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Hikari, Suguha, Asuna and Sinon were all sitting beside Kirito. The blacksmith had been unconscious after the invasion. According to the Anbu, he had displayed some sort of power that forced Orochimaru to retreat, then Kirito fell unconscious.

The four girls were worried sick. They knew he was strong, but what Kirito did was unusually reckless. The curse mark on his neck also didn't escape their eyes, and that worried them a lot.

As the girls cleaned him up, unknown to them, Kirito was having a dream.

In the dream, Kirito floated in darkness. He could feel pain coursing through his entire body.

Then, raspy voices spoke from all around him, "You couldn't protect them. You never had the power to do it. You are weak."

The darkness cleared, flames burned around him. Thousands of corpses laid in front of him. He looked around, Konoha was on his left, and a familiar village, one that he knew, but didn't, was on his right.

But that wasn't what caught his attention. In front of him, stood Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon, along with a blonde girl clad in golden armor and a young teen clad in light blue armor.

They were all bloodied and were literally standing on their last breath. Words failed to form in Kirito as he stared at them in shock.

Then, Hikari spoke, in the same raspy voice he heard, "You failed."

Suguha spoke in the raspy voice, "You never had the power. You were too weak."

Sinon continued in the raspy voice, "Because of you, everyone will die."

Kirito just stared in shock as the all repeated the same words over and over again. He grabbed his head in pain and screamed.

Then, everything changed. Now, Kirito was standing in front of a man with white hair, clad with armor. The man spoke coldly, "So, it has finally come to this."

Kirito glared at him, he didn't know why, but he felt an immense amount of anger towards the man, "I won't let you destroy the world."

The man laughed humouressly, "Still protecting the world, its not even our world, its a mere extension of ours, destroying it won't affect us."

Kirito was confused, he didn't know what the man was talking about. He could talk, but it was like his words were his, at the same time not his. Regardless, he replied, "Even so, there are still lives there. I can't let you kill them."

The man sighed, "Those two bitches really filled your head with bullshit. Whatever, I have come to far, to stop."

Kirito drew a black sword and a light blue sword. But they weren't the Elucidator or the Dark Repulsor. The black sword was similar to his own black sword, but it had a tree-like design on the guard of the hilt. The blue sword was also similar to his Dark Repulsor, but it had a blue rose on the guard of the hilt.

Then, he was broken out of his musings as both of them charged. His body moved, as if it was his own and not his own at the same time. Their swords clashed, and everything went white.

The glow died down soon after. This time, Kirito was standing in front of two women, well, one was a girl. The girl was short and had brown curly short hair. She wore a scholar kind of outfit. The young woman had silvery white long hair and wore something akin to a priestess' robe.

They didn't notice him as the shorter girl said, "The world is collapsing. If he doesn't win, we won't have a chance."

The silver haired woman sighed, "Right now the knights are fighting, if they can reach the altar and seal off our world, its our victory."

The shorter girl looked away, "Can they? Our world was already sealed off once, will Vector let it be sealed again?"

The silver haired girl shrugged. They then continued talking, but Kirito couldn't hear them anymore and everything blacked out.

Kirito's eyes snapped open. He glanced around and saw Hikari, Sinon, Suguha and Asuna sitting by his bed. He groaned, "Where am I?"

The girls all brightened up as they saw him awake. He groggily sat up as the four girls helped him up.

Hikari smiled, "We're in the hospital. You're finally awake. We were all worried, ya know?"

Kirito groaned, "How long have I been out?"

Asuna replied, "A week. The Anbu said you fell unconscious on the roof."

Kirito nodded as he remembered what happened. He got bitten by Orochimaru and got the curse mark. Then... what happened after that? For some reason, he couldn't recall anything after that. And then there was that dream earlier.

But before he could continue thinking, he felt four stern gazes on him. Kirito looked up and saw the four girls sternly staring at him. Asuna spoke, "Speaking of which, why did you fight someone like Orochimaru?"

Sinon nodded, "You could've died."

Kirito slumped back onto the bed and he thought, 'Why did I try, actually?'

Suguha asked in worry, "Kirito-kun?"

The blacksmith sat back up, "I don't remember why. I just did. So, how is the village now?"

Hikari replied, "The repairs are coming around nicely. Your shop is fine though. Everyone is working hard to rebuild the village."

Kirito nodded before he remembered, "By the way, how's Hokage-sama?"

The girls' faces all looked down. Suguha spoke, "He's still unconscious. No one knows when he'll wake up."

Kirito nodded, "I see."

The dream flashed in his mind as the cursed mark burned on his neck. Kirito winced slightly as he placed his hand over the mark.

His actions didn't escape the girls and they quickly went to his side. Kirito spoke, wincing in pain, "I'm fine. It just stings a bit."

The girls wanted to say something, but they were interrupted as the door opened. They all looked to the door to see Jiraiya standing there.

The Sannin spoke, "Hikari, pack up. We have a mission."

The Namikaze stared at her godfather, "A mission? Now?"

Jiraiya nodded, "Yeah. We're gonna find Tsunade to get her back, to be the next Hokage and heal Sarutobi-sensei."

The Uzumaki looked at Kirito and the girls, "But..."

Kirito smiled, "I told you I'm fine. Go bring Tsunade back, Hokage-sama needs her."

Hikari nodded, "Fine."

She turned to Jiraiya, "When are we leaving?"

The Sannin replied, "Pack for a week and meet me at the gates in two hours."

Hikari nodded as her godfather left. Asuna spoke, "Well, I'll go get the doctor."

Suguha and Sinon nodded as the auburn haired girl left the room. Then after that, Hikari moved to Kirito's left side, "I'll seal it up, okay?"

The swordsman nodded, "Yeah, go ahead."

The girl unsealed her sealing equipment and positioned Kirito so the cursed seal was exposed. The Uzumaki, having learned more of her clan techniques, easily recognised some parts of the seal, and she frowned.

The seal was a badly made one. No wonder Orochimaru needed to bite someone to apply it. If it wasn't for the fact that it was secured by a blood seal and a chakra key, she would have removed it. It also meant they would have to either force Orochimaru to undo it or kill him to remove the seal.

The Uzumaki started to draw on the seal. In less than 2 minutes, she finished and placed her brush down. Suguha and Sinon watched in awe as Hikari gracefully drew the seals before swiftly placing her brush down. Then, Hikari focused her chakra into seal.

The seal glowed, and Kirito winced in pain as cursed mark burned in defiance. But Hikari's seal proved to be stronger as it soon died down.

Hikari nodded, "Done. I've applied a two point seal, it should be enough to keep it sealed."

Kirito smiled, "Thank you, Hikari-chan."

The Uzumaki nodded before she spoke, "Speaking of which, do you wanna learn seals? I mean you can use chakra to some extent, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, but can I? I mean, putting the fact that seals require quite some chakra aside, they are your family heirloom."

Hikari frowned and flicked his nose, "You are my family, idiot. I won't mind it if you two learn as well, Sinon-chan, Suguha-chan."

She said that last part as she looked at the two other girls. But the two girls shook their heads. Suguha replied, "Well, I don't think it'll suit me. I'm more of a swords person."

Sinon nodded, "Me too. I mean, for now, maybe not. I wanna focus on perfecting my archery skills."

Hikari nodded, "Okay, I'll ask Asuna-chan later. So, Kirito-kun, how about it? I mean since I'm gonna be out of the village for a week or so."

Kirito pondered a bit, learning wouldn't hurt, regardless if he could actually use them or not, "Fine. I'll read up on them."

Hikari smiled, "Good."

Then, Asuna came back with the doctor. After a quick check up, the doctor, who was a Hyuga, nodded, "There seems to be nothing wrong, aside from your enlarged chakra coils. You might experience a small change in your chakra control, but it will return to normal in a week or so. So yeah, you're good to go."

Kirito nodded while the four girls bowed their thanks as the doctor left the room.

Hikari then spoke, "Well, I have to go pack. I still need to meet Jiraiya at the gates in about two hours."

Suguha nodded, "Sure, Kirito just needs to go through the procedures to get discharged."

The blonde nodded and left the room. After a while, Kirito got dressed and they quickly finished the procedures. But before they left, Kirito spoke, "Hey, you girls go back first. I have something I need to do."

Sinon raised an eyebrow, "Now?"

Kirito nodded, "It just came up and I remembered."

Asuna nodded, "Okay then, we'll wait for you at home."

Kirito nodded as the three girls left for the compound. Kirito walked to the counter, "Excuse me, where is Hokage-sama's room?"

The receptionist replied, "He's on the third floor, room 4."

Kirito nodded his thanks and quickly went to the room. He entered to see Hiruzen unconscious, an oxygen mask over his face and several tubes attached to him.

Kirito also saw Jiraiya standing there. The sannin noticed him, "Oh, you're fine now."

Kirito nodded as he went to stand beside Jiraiya. The swordsman spoke, "Its my fault. If I didn't go in, if I was strong enough."

Jiraiya shook his head, "No, at least you tried to help. Hell, its because of you he is alive. I heard from the Anbu, you drove Orochimaru away."

Kirito frowned, "But I don't remember any of it."

Jiraiya glanced at him, "It may be because of the rush of the battle. Besides, I could have helped him, its my fault too."

Kirito stayed silent as he stared at the unconscious form of the Hokage. Jiraiya then spoke, "Speaking of which, he gave you a curse mark, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, something about being worthy. But Hikari-chan sealed it up."

Jiraiya nodded, "I see. Well, her skills are top notch for her age, especially as an Uzumaki. I wouldn't be surprised if she surpasses me in a year."

Kirito chuckled, "I see."

The Gamma Sennin then said, "Hikari may have sealed the mark, but it can still influence you if you let your guard down. Be careful."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, I have to protect them, I won't let a crappy seal stop me."

Jiraiya nodded, but he thought, 'That's what I feared. His drive to protect those girls might increase the seal's strength, or it can stop it. I hope its the latter.'

Jiraiya then spoke, "Well, I'll leave you alone with him, I have some research to do."

Kirito nodded as the sannin left the room, leaving him alone with the unconscious Hokage. As he stood there, he thought, 'If only I was stronger, if I had more power.'

At those thoughts, the mark on Kirito's neck glowed, and for a brief moment, his eyes turned yellow a bit. After staying there for a few more minutes, he left the hospital and went home.

The blacksmith didn't fail to notice the reconstruction of the village as he walked. At least the district he was in wasn't badly damaged, plus the compound was reinforced with multiple seals.

Kirito entered the compound safely and saw Hikari finish packing her equipment in the living room. Kirito asked, "You done packing, Hikari-chan?"

The girl nodded, having sensed his presence as soon as he entered the compound, "Yeah. I still have half an hour left."

Kirito nodded as he sat down, "I see. By the way, where are the others?"

Hikari replied as she sealed her stuff into a scroll, "Asuna-chan is in the onsen, Sinon-chan is in the training room and Suguha-chan is in the garden."

The swordsman nodded before Hikari suggested, "Well, since I have half an hour, let's get you started on the basics of seals."

Kirito blinked before Hikari dragged him towards the library. Soon, Kirito was sitting in front of a stack of scrolls as Hikari said, "So, we'll start with the basics of seals."

For the next 45 minutes, Kirito's mind was blown by the amount of stuff Hikari had taught him, with the basics of the Uzumaki clan seals.

After that, Kirito slumped on his chair, "My head hurts..."

Hikari pouted cutely, "Come on, this is simple stuff. I learned this in less than two hours. You can do it. I expect that you finish at least the third volume when I come back."

Kirito just groaned before Hikari stated at him sternly. He nodded as the girl spoke, "Good. I'll tell the others I'm leaving, now go read up on the scrolls."

Kirito sighed as he took up the scroll, "Okay okay, I'll study."

Hikari nodded as she left to tell the others she was leaving for her mission.

A while later, Hikari waited at the gates until Jiraiya arrived. The sannin grinned, "So, let's go."

Hikari nodded as they walked out of the gates. As they did, Hikari asked, "So, where are we going actually? I mean you just told me we're gonna find my godmother."

Jiraiya chuckled, "Ah, well, I've been keeping track of her for some time now. According to my spy network, Tsunade is heading for Tanzaku Gai this week. Hopefully we'll catch her when we reach there. But of course, we need to head to a nearby village first, I have a spy there that may have info on Tsunade. "

Hikari nodded as they started to head towards the village, which would take them three hours at civilian speed.

Meanwhile, two men in black cloaks with red clouds were having tea in a random cafe. They both had a straw hat and they were listening to some women gossiping.

One of the women carelessly spoke, "Who knew Hikari-san is the daughter of Yondaime-sama?"

Another woman nodded, "I feel so bad, I mean now I think about it, her attitude is very similar to Kushina-sama and she looks exactly like a combination of both of them."

One other woman spoke, "I hope my son has a chance with her..."

The first woman deadpanned at her, "From what you told me, she doesn't like your son very much. Besides, she already has a boyfriend if I remember correctly."

The second woman sighed, "And here I had hoped _my_ son would have a chance."

The third woman nodded, "Maybe we can just ask her?"

The first woman shook her head, "Last I heard, she left on a mission with Jiraiya-sama."

The second woman was shocked, "With Jiraiya-sama?! I hope he doesn't do anything inappropriate..."

The two cloaked figures ignored the rest as the shorter one of them spoke, "Come on, we're leaving. She's not here."

The taller one chuckled, "Fine fine."

As they walked out of the cafe, they spotted Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai walking past them. As the three jounin walked, Kakashi remembered.

(Flash back... A few hours ago)

On a random roof, Jiraiya and Kakashi were talking. The sannin spoke, "The Akatsuki... they are moving soon. Right now, they will either start with the Ichibi, or the Kyuubi."

Kakashi nodded, "So, they might come for Hikari..."

Jiraiya nodded, "Among all five villages, as of now, we are the weakest since we're still recovering. Suna is fine, since the Ichibi has home ground advantage."

Kakashi nodded, "I see."

Jiraiya continued, "I'll be taking her out of the village for the time being. Stay on a lookout if they do come, they always wear a black cloak with red clouds."

Kakashi chuckled, "Black cloaks with red clouds. Got it, so looking for Tsunade is a cover?"

Jiraiya grinned, "Somewhat, and don't tell Kirito this."

Kakashi blinked, "Why? I mean he should know."

Jiraiya shook his head, "Right now he has the cursed mark. Its too... unknown for us. Even if Hikari did a good job sealing it, Kirito still blames himself for Hokage-sama's current condition. His mind is unstable."

Kakashi nodded in understanding, "I see. That makes sense. His drive is to protect those four girls. If he finds out a group of S-ranked nuke nin are out for her head..."

The sannin finished, "Kirito might do something that will kill him."

Kakashi pondered on that before Jiraiya spoke again, "One more thing, Itachi is among the Akatsuki. It's likely he'll be coming for her, if they do come."

(flashback end)

Right after they passed each other, Kakashi turned and spoke quietly, "Follow those two."

Asuma and Kurenai nodded before they slowly followed the two cloaked figures towards the forests, beside a river.

As they followed, the shorter figure spoke, "You three can stop, we're alone now, aren't we?"

Kakashi spoke, "You two, you're Akatsuki, right?"

The taller figure chuckled, "I guess we're found out, right, Itachi?"

Asuma and Kurenai were surprised. The former Guardian ninja spoke, "Itachi?"

The shorter figure turned and tipped his straw hat up, "Its been a while, Kakashi-senpai, Kurenai-san, Asuma."

The taller figure chuckled, "Ah, friends of yours, Itachi?"

The slayer of the Uchiha clan nodded, taking off his straw hat, "Yeah."

The taller figure nodded and took off his hat, "I guess I should introduce myself too, I'm Hoshigaki Kisame."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at him, "Why are you here? Is it Sasuke?"

Itachi knew Kakashi was bullshitting him, but he decided to play along, "I'm not here for him, yet. Sasuke still isn't strong enough. No, I'm here, for the Yondaime Hokage's legacy."

Kakashi glared at them, "You're after Hikari then?"

Kisame grinned, "Yeah, but now you know, we'll have to kill you."

Itachi spoke, "Kisame, we're not here to fight."

The copy ninja spoke, "But we won't just let you waltz in and out of the village."

Asuma nodded, "You two have some guts, to just walk in to our village."

Itachi let a small smirk appear on his face, "Hey, the security now is loose."

The Uchiha's smirk faded, "But, if you want to fight..."

He trailed off as Kisame drew the huge weapon off his back and slammed it onto the ground. The Kiri nuke nin grinned, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

Itachi immediately drew a handful of shuriken and threw them at Kakashi. The copy ninja flashed through handseals, "Suiton: Suijinheki!"

Water from the river flowed onto the ground and formed a wall, blocking the shuriken. Kakashi cursed, he couldn't even see the shuriken and it was by pure luck and instinct that he made the wall.

He was broken out of his musings as Kisame slammed the sword onto his shoulder. Luckily, the damage wasn't much as Kakashi was sent onto the river.

Asuma yelled in concern, "Kakashi!"

He was interrupted by Itachi, "You shouldn't be worrying about others."

Asuma's eyes widened as Itachi was already in front of him, his leg extended as the Uchiha kicked Asuma on to the water. Kurenai glared at the Uchiha and flashed through a set of seals, "Genjutsu: Jubaku Satsu!"

In Itachi's point of view, the woman disappeared and he was suddenly trapped in a tree with vines. Itachi chuckled, "Not bad, but a genjutsu of this level will do nothing."

In an instant, Kurenai found herself in her own genjutsu and she realized it, "Genjutsu Gaeshi."

Itachi nodded, "With my Sharingan, this is but child's play. Of course I can also do it without my eyes."

Kurenai vomited blood as Itachi stabbed a kunai into her gut. But Kurenai tch'd and released the genjutsu, just in time to block a kick from the Uchiha, sending her onto the water too.

Itachi walked onto the water as Kisame stood beside him. The Uchiha spoke, "Kisame, we need to end it quick, if this goes on, reinforcements may arrive, even if we are strong, it will be hard to leave here without a scratch."

Kisame smirked, "Then you'll use that?"

Itachi nodded as the shark man walked behind him. Itachi stared at the three Konoha ninja in front of him, his Sharingan spinning.

Kakashi's eyes widened and he yelled, "Close your eyes now!"

The two jounin followed suit while Kakashi shut his normal eye. Itachi smirked slightly, "Not a wrong choice, but, your normal Sharingan, more so since its a transplanted one, won't stand up to this. Tsukuyomi."

Immediately Kakashi fell to the ground panting. Kurenai asked, "What did he do?"

Kakashi glared at him, "He tortured me for 72 hours straight by stabbing me repeatedly. Fucking sadist."

Itachi chuckled, "Well, I suppose we should get going. You better take him to the hospital."

The two opened their eyes to see Itachi and Kisame gone.

An hour later, Kakashi was on the bed. Kirito, Kurenai, Asuma and Gai were in the room. The two Jounin were already there as they brought him to the hospital. Gai saw them on the way and followed them.

As for Kirito, he heard someone saw Kakashi headed to the office and decided to visit him, since he was having the day off.

Kirito asked, "So, what happened?"

Kakashi chuckled, "You wouldn't believe me if I said I got hurt in a spar, right?"

Kirito just deadpanned at him, "Just tell me."

Before they could continue, Asuma spoke, "Quiet."

The door opened as Sasuke entered. The Uchiha asked, "What happened? I was looking for Kakashi-sensei and someone told me he was hospitalised."

But before anyone could reply, a random Jounin barged in, "Is it true?! Itachi showed up in town and he's after Hikari in a nearby village?!"

In a flash of red and black, Kirito was gone, and Sasuke pushed the Jounin aside and charged out of the room.

Kurenai facepalmed, "Idiot..."

The Jounin was confused. Kakashi sighed, "Gai, go after them please."

The taijutsu specialist nodded and ran out of the room as they explained to him what he had done.

With Kirito and Sasuke, the swordsman was flying full speed with the Acceleration on while Sasuke was leaping through the trees like his life depended on it.

The both had similar thoughts, they knew where the nearest village was, and they hoped they would make it in time.

XXX

Done. So yeah. Please vote. Review please. Until next chapter.


	23. Chapter 23

Hey. So to that **Guest** , whose review I deleted. This story may be shit, but no one forced you to read it. Besides, if mine is so shit, why don't you do everyone a favour and write a better one then? And if you wanna flame, make an account. No one knows who you rly are anyways.

And to another **Guest** , who review I did not delete. True, it seems stupid for Kirito to blame himself. Normally he wouldn't, but remember, he got the cursed mark here, thus his mentality is a bit unstable. Besides, he was the only other one there, so Kirito blaming himself for not being able to do more is natural.

With that aside, here's the next chapter.

XXX

Hikari and Jiraiya had reached the village. The Sannin spoke as they entered the entrance of the village, "Hikari, I'm gonna go meet my informant, you go find an inn and get our rooms."

Hikari nodded. With his serious tone, she would have really believed him. But the girl just deadpanned at him as Jiraiya threw a pouch of money at her before going towards that one woman who winked at him.

Hikari sighed as she looked into the pouch, at least he gave her more than enough money to get two rooms AND a dozen bowls of ramen.

The girl looked at the buildings in front of her. It was almost evening anyways, they had taken quite some time travelling after all. The Uzumaki walked towards one of the inns and entered the lobby.

Hikari approached the counter and spoke, "Excuse me, I'd like to get two rooms please."

The receptionist nodded and Hikari quickly got the keys to two rooms, one for her, the other for Jiraiya. She, under no circumstances, had any desire to stay in a same room as Jiraiya.

Meanwhile, Kirito was flying from the nearest village to the next. There were several villages around Konoha, and while he heard that Jiraiya and Hikari had gone to the nearest village, it wasn't much.

Kirito had wasted enough time searching that previous village, and this time he was on his way to the next, which fortunately was the one Hikari was in.

With Sasuke, the only village he knew of near Konoha was the one Hikari was in, fortunately for him. But the Uchiha was slow compared to Kirito, so by the time he reached the village, it would already be the evening.

A while later, Hikari was lying on her bed. The girl played with a small grey dragon the size of of a puppy she had summoned. Hikari smiled as the little dragon stumbled around the bed in front of her.

Then she heard a knock on the door. Hikari scooped up the dragon and walked towards the door, "Finally..."

The girl opened the door to reveal two men in black coats, with red clouds. Hikari easily noticed the Sharingan and knew she was looking at Uchiha Itachi. As for the other man, Hikari had no idea who he was, but was still wary of him.

The slayer of the Uchiha clan spoke, "Uzumaki Hikari, I would like you to come with us."

The girl wordlessly sent the dragon puppy back to its realm and spoke, "What do you want?"

Kisame grinned, "Hey Itachi, can I cut off her limbs?"

Itachi glanced at Kisame but didn't reply. With Hikari, the Kyuubi growled in her mind, "Hikari, prepare to go all out. These guys are far stronger than you, at least for now. If you use three tails, you can probably kill one of them, but against two, you have to find that pervert."

The girl nodded as she backed into the middle of the room. Itachi spoke again, "Hikari, I believe I said we'd like you to follow us."

The Uzumaki glared at him, and for a moment, Itachi shivered from the glare due to how much it reminded him of a certain redhead.

Then, before any of them could react, a wave of chains shot out of the ground and would have skewered both of the S-ranked nuke nin, if it weren't for their reflexes.

Itachi narrowed his eyes as he saw Hikari conjure up several chains in her hands. The Uchiha had some experience fighting Kushina, since she was his mother's best friend, he had sparred with her before.

He also knew how deadly those chains were. If Hikari was half as good as Kushina was, then taking the girl with the two of them unscathed was a tall order.

Itachi spoke, "Kisame, be careful of those chains."

The swordsman glanced at his partner in surprise, but nodded nonetheless. Kisame spoke, "Well, I guess I'll go first then."

In an instant, the sharkman was in front of the blonde, his Samehada drawn and ready to rip Hikari to shreds. The girl ducked just in time to dodge the massive sword and she swung her chains at him.

The chains wrapped around Kisame's legs, to the man's surprise. Then she pulled, and Kisame fell to the ground. Itachi narrowed his eyes as Hikari quickly made a wall of chains to block them from her.

The chain wall soon fell apart and Hikari was nowhere to be found, apart from the opened window. Itachi let a small smirk appear on his face, at least the girl was crafty.

Kisame got up, growling, "That damned bitch..."

Itachi spoke in his monotonous voice, "You got careless. Let's go."

With Hikari, she leaped from roof to roof as she searched for the building she remembered seeing Jiraiya enter. But she didn't make it far as she saw Itachi appear in front of her.

The girl turned, but found Kisame with his Samehada pointed at her. Hikari tch'd as the swordsman grinned, "End of the line girl."

Kisame leaped at her and swung his sword. But Hikari saw it coming and leaned to the right, barely dodging it. Then she made a Chidori in her right hand and stabbed her lightning clad arm in Kisame's waist.

The man yelled in pain. But Hikari wasn't done. Quickly making a Rasengan with her left hand, she slammed the sphere of chakra into his chest. The sphere expanded and blew the man away, grinding his flesh as it did.

Hikari then quickly turned to face Itachi. But she was a tad bit too late. The Uchiha was already in front of her, "Not bad, Kushina-san would be proud. But its not enough yet."

The girl could only make a surprised face before Itachi slammed his leg into her stomach, sending her crashing into another roof.

Itachi glanced to where Kisame was. The sharkman growled as he stood up, using the Samehada as a crutch as his wounds healed rapidly thanks to the sword, "I'm gonna butcher her pretty little face."

The Uchiha sighed, "Remember our mission, we need her alive, preferably intact too."

Kisame growled, "No one said anything about maiming."

Itachi nodded, but he wasn't keen on doing it. The girl was still Kushina and Minato's daughter. Despite being very young at that time, Itachi remembered the two well. They had been kind to him and had helped train him when they visted his mother.

But before any of them could say or do anything, a voice yelled from a side, "UCHIHA ITACHI!"

The two nuke nin turned to see Sasuke standing on the roof. Kisame asked, "Hey, he kinda looks like you, that's your brother?"

Itachi nodded, "Indeed."

Sasuke growled and he noticed Hikari getting up on the roof, a little winded from the kick, "I'LL KILL YOU! You won't take away anymore from me!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow, that was something new. It would seem the Jinchurikii was someone important to him, and it pained the man to take away another person important to his brother yet again.

But if that stopped him, then he wasn't Itachi. The Uchiha slayer spoke, "So, she's someone important to you? If you want to protect her, then stop me, if you can."

Hatred burned in Sasuke's eyes as his Sharingan spun angrily. The Uchiha went through a set of handseals and ignited the Chidori in his arm. Then he charged and leaped off the roof he was on, heading straight for Itachi.

The younger Uchiha threw his lightning clad arm at Itachi. But to his shock, his brother easily grabbed his wrist, stopping the attack as if it was nothing.

Itachi stared at his brother in the eye, "You are still too weak. The girl's Chidori is many times stronger than yours. You lack hate, you let useless feelings and emotions hinder you. Let me remind you, brother. Tsukuyomi."

Itachi's Sharingan quickly morphed into the Mangekyou Sharingan and the genjutsu took hold of the younger brother.

With Sasuke, everything turned negative, literally. He was tied up to a cross and Itachi stood in front of him. The older Uchiha spoke, "For the next 24 hours, relieve that day, and after that, for 24 hours, you will see everything you ever care for now, taken away from you."

And that happened. For 48 hours, in Sasuke's perspective, he went through the events of the Uchiha wipeout, along with Hikari killed in front of him.

Outside, Sasuke fell onto the roof limp after 3 seconds, to the confusion of Hikari who saw everything from when Sasuke charged Itachi.

The girl glared at the elder Uchiha, "What did you do to him?"

Itachi turned to the girl, "I merely reminded him of his purpose. Nothing more, nothing less. Besides, shouldn't you be worried for yourself?"

Hikari didn't reply but she thought, 'Kyuubi, let's go.'

The Kyuubi hmph'd, "I've been waiting for this for some time you know."

Hikari nodded as she felt the chakra enter her, filling her body with power as the chakra shroud formed around her body. Then the girl charged.

Hikari sent a chakra arm at Itachi, who swiftly dodged the strike. The Uchiha thought as the arm passed, 'Bijuu chakra, it seems she has some amount of control. Apart from the host themselves, the chakra is extremely corrosive.'

He decided it was best to avoid it. But Kisame had other ideas. The man swung his sword at the chakra, and as soon as the sword touched it, the sword absorbed the chakra.

Kisame grinned, "It seems Samehada likes the chakra."

Hikari cursed. The sword had taken quite some chakra away, even if the Kyuubi could replenish it easily. She could also assume the sword gave the chakra to Kisame, which was a troublesome thing.

Then, before they could continue, they heard a yell as a black figure crashed into Kisame, sending the man into the roof again.

Hikari blinked in surprise as she easily recognized who had arrived, "Kirito-kun?"

Kirito glared at Itachi who stared at him. The Uchiha slayer spoke, "Who are you?"

Kirito replied, not moving from his stance, "Kirito, I won't let you take Hikari-chan."

Itach didn't reply as Kisame got up growling, "What is with all of you sending me into the roof?!"

Hikari stood beside Kirito, "Kirito-kun, I want you to hold off that blue man, I will fight Itachi. This will definitely attract attention, and Jiraiya will notice us."

Kirito wanted to protest, but Hikari cut him off, "I have the Kyuubi, genjutsu won't work on me, you're different."

The swordsman sighed and nodded, "Fine, just don't die."

Kisame grinned at the shorter swordsman, "Oh, that black coat with those swords, you must be the one who killed Zabuza."

Kirito stared at the shark coldly, "Yeah, and you're next."

Kisame chuckled, "Oh, so you wanna hunt us Seven Swordsman, let's see if you have what it takes then!"

Kirito didn't reply and charged wordlessly. The younger swordsman charged chakra into his swords, ignoring the slight pull on the mark on his neck, "Double Circular!"

He swung both swords horizontally at Kisame who raised his Samehada to block the strike. The former Kiri nin's eyes widened as he was pushed back by the force of the strike. But he quickly stood his ground as the Samehada absorbed the chakra from Kirito's swords.

Kisame swiftly kicked the shorter swordsman away, "Is that it? Its not even a snack for thethe Samehada."

Kirito cursed. His chakra had been absorbed by the shark man's own sword. It rendered his sword skills useless and Kisame was far stronger than he was. He wasn't at full stren

Kirito quickly got up, considering his options. He could see Hikari fighting Itachi, and it seemed she was having a better time than he was. He also noticed Sasuke's unconscious form on a nearby roof.

Then he remembered, they didn't need to win, not on their own. The two of them were still too weak compared to Itachi and Kisame. But if they had one S-ranked ninja by their side, they could at least get away. Kirito cursed himself for being too caught up and jumped away onto another roof with his Acceleration.

He needed to do flashy techniques, destructive ones especially, and the Tempesta was perfect. But unfortunately for him, Kisame wasn't planning to let him do anything.

In an instant, Kisame appeared in front of the young man. The older man smirked, "Too slow, kid!"

He kicked Kirito away before the young man could start chanting. Kisame quickly pushed on as Kirito got up and dodged his attack.

Meanwhile, Hikari was sending attack after attack at Itachi. The Uchiha slayer dodged every single attack, but had yet to counter, and it was annoying the girl more and more every second passed.

Hikari growled and bent down, sending a bundle of chains along with several chakra arms at Itachi. To her annoyance, the S-ranked Uchiha merely dissolved into a dozen crows before he reformed some distance away from her.

Itachi spoke, "It's like I told Sasuke, you lack hate, you lack power to kill me. Give up."

Hikari glared at him wordlessly and formed a Rasengan and a Chidori in each of her hands. The girl then charged.

Itachi was caught off guard briefly by the sudden burst of speed. But he was an S-ranked ninja for a reason, the man leaned back just in time to dodge the Chidori and he leaped back to dodge the Rasengan.

Frankly, the S-ranked Uchiha was impressed. Even with her 'Bijuu enhanced' Uzumaki chakra reserves, which was considerably huge, throwing A-ranked jutsu like disposable weapons was not an easy feat, especially when they were the Rasengan and the Chidori. The Chidori and Rasengan, on each of their own already required a huge amount of chakra and control. Hikari could do both at the same time, and that spoke volumes of her chakra reserves and control.

The man was broken out of his musings when Hikari sent another bundle of chains and chakra arms at him. Itachi leaped up to dodge the attacks and realized he was slowly drifting away from Kisame and Kirito, who was having a hard time keeping up.

Itachi decided he couldn't waste more time and flashed through handseals, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu."

He was slightly surprised when Hikari sent her chakra arms and grabbed the fire ball out of midair and threw it back at him. The man dodged the fireball easily and he landed on another roof.

But Hikari wasn't done. Using the chakra arms as a catapult, Hikari launched herself into the air. She then extended several chains that quickly binded onto Itachi and pulled him towards her.

The girl made two considerably large Rasengan in both hands and slammed them into Itachi's chest. She would have killed him, if not for Itachi dissolving into crows yet again.

Itachi reformed some distance away, "I take back what I said earlier. You are strong, given time, you will be a problem."

Hikari glared at him, but was slightly proud from the compliment. Then something caught their attention as a black person was seen flying straight for Hikari.

Hikari quickly made two chakra arms and caught the person easily, "Kirito-kun? Are you okay?"

The young man nodded as he got down from the chakra arms, a bit surprised that the chakra didn't burn him like it was supposed to.

Kisame landed beside Itachi and spoke, "Hey, can we kill the boy, he's annoying. He's clearly not fighting at full strength, that's fucking annoying."

Hikari glanced at him, a bit surprised at Kisame's words. But then she noticed it, Kirito's breathing was a bit fast and he was sweating quite a bit, hell, his stance was a bit sluggish too. Normally he wouldn't have had that much trouble, but it would make sense if he wasn't at full strength.

The Kyuubi spoke, "Tch, your mate is weakened. He's practically useless for now. Where the hell is that toad?! Hikari, we will survive this even if I have to turn you into a whole bijuu."

Hikari nodded, 'Thanks, Kyuubi. But Jiraiya should have noticed us by now. Where is he?'

Her thoughts were cut off by a loud shout," DYNAMIC ENTRY! "

A green blur crashed into Kisame and sent him flying into another roof as the green figure landed in front of the Kyuubi-fied Hikari and Kirito. Kirito spoke surprised, "Gai-san?"

The taijutsu master turned to the young blacksmith, "Ah, Kirito. Nice to see I've catched up. Now, take Sasuke and run, both of you, I'll stall them."

Hikari nodded and allowed the Kyuubi's chakra to return to the seal as she used her chains to pick up Sasuke. But then before they could leave, a familiar white haired man landed behind Itachi and Kisame.

Jiraiya announced, "FEAST YOUR EYES LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! TOAD SAGE JIRAIYA-SAMAAAA HAS ARRIVED!"

Kisame grinned, "Ho, so one more? This is gonna be fun."

Itachi looked around. Hikari wasn't using the Kyuubi's chakra anymore, but she could easily draw on it again. Gai was a hard opponent for him, since regardless of the man's weirdness, he was a taijutsu master and could fight without eye contact.

Needless to say Jiraiya was even more of a threat if he went all out. Among the Sannin, Itachi felt that Jiraiya was the greatest threat. Especially because of the fool's image the man made of himself.

The Uchiha glanced at his brother one more time, "Kisame. We're leaving."

Kisame blinked, "Eh, why?"

Itachi glared at his partner slightly, wondering why he had to get a stupid partner, "Jiraiya is stronger than any of us alone, with Gai and the girl, one of us will die if we take them on."

Kisame hmph'd, "Fine."

Jiraiya just stared at them, ready to take any action if the two did anything. Itachi closed his eyes and opened them to reveal the Mangekyou Sharingan, putting everyone on edge.

Then he spun his head, "Amateratsu."

Instantly, black flames surrounded the two S-ranked nuke nin. Jiraiya cursed and quickly took out a scroll, "Kaen Fuin!"

The black flames were sucked into the scroll and Jiraiya quickly rolled it up and threw it away just time as it exploded.

But when he looked back at where Itachi and Kisame were standing, both of them were already gone. Jiraiya cursed, but decided it was for the better. If he used Sage mode, no doubt he could kill at least one of them, but he wouldn't come out unscathed either.

Jiraiya approached Hikari, Gai and Kirito. The Sannin stared at the swordsman, "You know, taking on two S-ranked ninja when you aren't at full strength is stupid, do you really want to die?"

Kirito didn't reply as he sheathed his swords. Jiraiya just looked at him, he was worried to be honest. The blacksmith's mentality was most probably getting more unstable by the second.

Jiraiya sighed and looked at Gai, "Gai, sorry but, can you take Kirito and Sasuke back to the village?"

Gai nodded and picked up the unconscious Sasuke and looked at Kirito, "Kirito."

The young man nodded before Hikari spoke, "Kirito-kun, are you okay?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess, I'm still out of it."

Jiraiya huffed, "Your body still hasn't fully recovered. You're strong, I'll give you that, but you still aren't an active ninja. Besides, you still have a shop to run, right?"

Kirito nodded as he turned, "Yeah. But, at least, Hikari-chan is safe."

Hikari grinned at him, "I'll be fine. Besides, go study those seals. I told you I expect you to finish at least three volumes when I get back, right?"

Kirito nodded as he followed Gai away. Hikari just watched with a slightly worried face. As they left, Jiraiya sighed, "That's why I didn't want to let him know."

Hikari blinked, "What do you mean?"

Jiraiya spoke as he jumped down, "Come on, I'll tell you in the room."

Hikari nodded and followed him back to the hotel in his room. Jiraiya sat down on the bed and spoke, "You know how Kirito and Sasuke got the cursed mark, right?"

Hikari nodded, "What does that have to do with this?"

Jiraiya stared at his goddaughter, "The cursed mark will twist the bearer's mind. It makes them mentally unstable, or at least, the ones Sasuke and Kirito have. The more chakra they use, the more the seal becomes activated. I know you sealed it, you did a splendid job. But, the cursed mark is beyond that."

Hikari asked, "Then, what do we do?"

Jiraiya shook his head, "I'm still looking into it. The worst part is this, since Sasuke and Kirito are both weak now, as in they haven't fully recovered, they are also weak in the mind, the fight with Itachi and Kisame will just increase that feeling. That's why I wanted to keep them off of this mission."

Hikari was getting more worried, "Then, what can we do?"

Jiraiya shrugged, "For now, nothing. Just focus on finding Tsunade. Once I find a way to remove the mark, I'll tell you."

Hikari nodded before Jiraiya went to apply some seals in the room, "I'll place some security seals, you go to your room and get some rest. We'll be heading for Tanzaku Gai tomorrow morning."

The girl nodded and headed towards her own room, slumping onto the bed as soon as she did and drifted off to sleep.

Later, in the compound, Kirito laid on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Kirito thought, 'I have to get stronger. I can't protect them like this.'

As he thought, he heard a knock on the door, and Asuna's voice came in, "Kirito-kun, can we come in?"

Kirito replied, "Yeah, come in, the door isn't locked."

The door opened and Asuna, Suguha and Sinon came in. Sinon spoke, "We heard from Gai-sensei, that you went out of the village, that you fought Kisame and Itachi."

Kirito sat up, "Yeah, I did."

Suguha frowned, "You're not fully healed yet, why did you do something so reckless?"

Sinon nodded, "Yeah, I know you want to protect Hikari-chan, but right now you should focus on recovering. Besides, you have your shop to take care of, you don't have fight."

Kirito nodded, "I got it."

There was an awkward moment of silence after that. Asuna spoke, "Well, Kirito-kun, you're tired, right? You should get some rest, plus Hikari-chan did give you the scrolls to study fuinjutsu, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah. I guess I'll do that."

Asuna nodded and pulled Suguha and Sinon up and out of the room, "Let's just let him rest, okay?"

The girls nodded and closed the door as Kirito slumped back down onto the bed. As he slept, unknown to any of them, the sealed cursed mark on his neck pulsed slightly, trying to expand before Hikari's seal surpressed it again.

XXX

Okay. Done. So review please. And if you have any ideas, feel free to tell me. And please vote on the poll. So the next few chapters will be finding Tsunade. So, I'm turning the focus to Hikari now. Asuna, Sinon and Suguha will have their turn soon. So yeah, until next chapter.


	24. Chapter 24

Hey, so this is chapter 24. About the romance tag, when I started the story, having romance was the idea, but erm, when I started writing, it didn't seemed to come up, so I might have missed those parts. Sorry about that, I'll work on those, just wanted to say that.

So depending how it goes, I'll probably either work on putting those scenes, or just remove that tag and put in another suitable tag.

So yeah, here's the next chapter.

XXX

The next day, Hikari and Jiraiya were on the road. They had left the village in the morning, since Jiraiya didn't want to waste any more time.

As they walked, the Kyuubi spoke to Hikari, "Hikari, those people yesterday, they were strong."

The girl nodded, 'I know, you don't have to tell me.'

The Kyuubi nodded, "Yes, but as you are now, you will never defeat them. Your body has gotten used to three tails, I suppose its time to go further."

Hikari's eyes widened in surprise, 'You serious?'

The Kyuubi chuckled, "Of course, but you still have ways to go before we can use my real form. For now, we'll try four tails when we have the time."

Hikari nodded, 'Thank you, Kyuubi.'

The bijuu grinned, "Don't thank me yet, thank me when you become Hokage."

Hikari just giggled as the Kyuubi spoke again, "Okay, quiet, I wanna sleep."

Hikari just nodded as they kept walking, Jiraiya raising an eyebrow at her and just decided that she was talking to the Kyuubi.

Meanwhile, in Tanzaku Gai, a busty blonde woman with a green flak jacket that had the kanji for 'gamble' and a black haired woman in dark blue carrying a small pig were in a casino.

The blonde woman pulled the slot machine and waited for the results. To her surprise, she hit the jackpot, and the woman beside her cheered, "Tsunade-sama, you won!"

The Slug Sannin stared at the machine a while before she turned, "Shizune, take the money and pack up, we're leaving."

The woman blinked, "Eh, why? I mean you won..."

She trailed off and realized it. Tsunade nodded, "I never win, or at least, I never hit the jackpot."

The woman nodded and quickly collected the money before they quickly headed out.

As they walked through the streets, the two kunoichi were on edge as the streets were suddenly silent and void of people, or at least the part of the street they were in, which was unnatural.

Shizune narrowed her eyes as two figures appeared before them, while Tsunade was indifferent. Tsunade asked in an annoyed tone, "Orochimaru, what do you want?"

The snake sannin smirked, "You wouldn't believe me if I said I came here to catch up on old times, right?"

Tsunade just narrowed her eyes at him, "You and I remember 'old times' very differently."

Orochimaru chuckled, "Maybe, I won't bullshit you, I want you to join me."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "Join you? Why? You've left us alone for a decade, why now?"

Orochimaru grinned, "That's why you're the only one teammate I still keep in contact with. I attacked Konoha, you know? I used Sunagakure like chess pieces and I almost succeeded. But alas, my pieces were too weak, you don't like Konoha, right?"

Tsunade didn't reply as Orochimaru continued, "They took your lover, your brother, Minato and Kushina. They even took away your goddaughter. So, how about it, we can destroy that cursed village together."

The Slug Sannin just glared at him as Shizune spoke, "Tsunade-sama, you can't be serious?! We can take them here!"

The woman spoke silently, "Shizune, shut it."

The sannin's apprentice stopped talking as Tsunade looked at her former teammate, "Why now? You may have sent me projects here and then, but never about joining you. You just left us alone, what happened?"

Kabuto kept silent as his master spoke, "I told you, we attacked Konoha and I almost killed Sarutobi-sensei, all we need is to gather our forces once more and we can finish it."

Tsunade blinked, "You attacked the village? You almost killed sensei?"

Orochimaru smirked and nodded, "I won't lie and say no. If you are to join me, I will share everything I know, we used to be teammates after all."

Tsunade kept silent as Shizune spoke, "Tsunade-sama, you're not seriously considering, are you? They attacked the village, they almost killed Hokage-sama."

Seeing his former teammate considering her options, Orochimaru spoke again, "You don't need to answer now, I'll come back in a week, I hope you will have an answer then. Don't leave the village, I'll know if you do."

Before either women could say anything, Orochimaru and Kabuto vanished via Shunshin. Shizune stared at her master, "Tsunade-sama..."

The Sannin sighed, "I knew that jackpot wasn't a good sign. I need a drink."

Shizune just kept silent as she followed her master towards a nearby bar.

Meanwhile, Hikari and Jiraiya were at the entrance of Tanzaku Gai. Jiraiya grinned, "Its been a while since I last came here. Come on."

Hikari nodded as she followed her godfather into the village, noticing the amount of bars and casinos around her. Jiraiya had told her about Tsunade's love for sake and gambling, so she could see why she would be here.

As they walked, Jiraiya spoke, "Hikari, we'll split up, search the casinos and bars, that's where Tsunade will mostly be, also if I remember correctly, there will be a black haired woman with a small pig with her."

Hikari nodded as the Toad Sage walked in another direction. The Uzumaki sighed as she could see Jiraiya walking into a brothel right away. The girl decided that it was better for her health to just leave the pervert alone and continue searching.

As the girl walked along the streets, she looked around. Then, Hikari decided to try her luck in one of the casinos.

The Uzumaki approached one of the men and asked, "Excuse me, have you seen Tsunade?"

The man raised an eyebrow at her, he knew she was a Konoha ninja from her headband. He asked, "Why are you looking for her?"

Hikari replied, "A mission, so, do you know anything?"

The man chuckled, "Well, you'll have to find out, this is a casino after all."

He gestured to one of the gambling tables. Hikari sighed and nodded as she followed him to the table. The man grinned, "We'll start with a simple game of poker, if you win, I'll tell you about Tsunade, if I win, you'll give me all the money you have. Deal?"

Hikari sighed and nodded, "Fine."

The man nodded to the card dealer and he started the game. After the first game, which Hikari won, the man refused to tell her, instead paying her money and started another game.

The Uzumaki just played along since it was one game, but this continued for a while until the man had no more money. Hikari asked, very annoyed, "Now, will you tell me?"

The girl glared at him and the man started sweating under her glare. But before they could continue, Jiraiya's voice came, "Hikari, what are you doing?"

The girl turned to see Jiraiya with a very amused face. The sannin chuckled, "I found Tsunade, come on, he doesn't have anymore money, right?"

Hikari glanced at the stack of money with her and nodded, "Fine."

The two left the casino and headed towards a bar. Jiraiya laughed, "Girl, I'm impressed. That guy was a scam."

The girl looked at her godfather in confusion as he explained, "Its not rare to have men like him tricking people into games. He didn't have anything about Tsunade, he was actually hoping you would continue losing in those games."

Hikari blinked before she growled, "That son of a bitch..."

Jiraiya just laughed, "But his plan backfired, he's broke now. Seriously, how good are you?"

Hikari blinked, "Actually, I don't know much about gambling. I mean I've played some card games before, but I didn't really play much of poker."

Jiraiya stared at the girl before he roared with laughter, "My god, its official, I'm bringing you to the casino next time."

Hikari didn't know how to reply as they just continued walking. Soon, they reached a humble looking bar. Jiraiya spoke, "Let me handle the talking, got it?"

Hikari just nodded as they entered the bar. The first thing Hikari noticed was the two women sitting at a corner. They basically leaked chakra compared to the others in the shop, plus it wasn't hard to notice the one blonde, apart from herself, in the bar.

Hikari was about to ask Jiraiya if they were the ones they were looking for before the pervert walked towards that table.

The Toad Sage grinned, "Yo, its been a long time, Tsunade-hime."

The woman glanced at the white haired man with a sake cup in her hand, "Jiraiya, what do you want?"

The man chuckled, "What? I can't visit my long lost teammate?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him, "I've already met Orochimaru, so you what do you want? And who is this girl anyway? Some gold digger?"

Hikari glared at her, "Who would follow this pervert willingly? I'm better than that, besides, I already have a boyfriend."

Jiraiya just sweatdropped and spoke, "This is Hikari, Tsunade. Erm, can we sit down, this is gonna take a while."

Tsunade gestured to the two empty seats in front of her and Shizune, "Go ahead, I'm not done drinking anyways, but you're paying."

Jiraiya nodded and they sat down. The man spoke, "Remember how we told you that Minato and Kushina's daughter died?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him, "What? You're not telling me she's alive and this is her?"

Jiraiya nodded and Tsunade stared at the girl, "Wait, Hikari, that blonde hair and whisker marks..."

The Slug Sannin glared at her former teammate, "Explain."

Jiraiya chuckled nervously, "Ermm, you see, sensei thought since you lost Nawaki and Dan, and then Kushina and Minato died that night, you would be too mentally unstable to look after a child."

Tsunade continued glaring at him, "Go on."

The Toad Sage nodded, "So we thought we would let you take some time off before we told you the truth, but time passed and we kinda...forgot?"

Tsunade glared at him, "I should just kill you, take her and go hide in some secluded place with Shizune."

Hikari spoke up, "Its not his fault really, I mean all he ever did was ignore me for sixteen years of my life before magically appearing as my teacher for the Chunnin Exams."

Jiraiya gaped at her as Tsunade smiled sweetly, "So, not only did you lie to me about my goddaughter, you also neglected her for a whole sixteen years?"

Jiraiya spoke again, "Erm, actually there's something else we came here for."

Tsunade just glared at him, "Oh? So, what is so important than punishing you for lying to me about my goddaughter and neglecting her?"

Hikari kept silent, she did agree to have Jiraiya do the talking, besides, she wanted to see who and what kind of person her godmother is.

Jiraiya replied, "You should know Orochimaru attacked Konoha, he launched an invasion."

Tsunade nodded, "I know, then?"

Jiraiya let out a breath, his face turning serious, "Because of him, Sarutobi-sensei is in coma now, we need you to save him and be the Godaime Hokage."

Tsunade blinked, "Hold up, heal Sarutobi-sensei, I get that, but what's this about being the Fifth Hokage?"

The man sighed, "Sarutobi-sensei can only take the position for so long. Frankly I'm surprised he held on for so long. We need someone to take that hat, I believe that's you."

Tsunade's tone turned cold, "No, that seat is for fools. Go find yourself another Hokage. If I go back, it will only to heal sensei, then I'm leaving, and I'm bringing Hikari along."

Jiraiya sighed, but Hikari was curious by her reaction. The Uzumaki asked, "What did you mean, about the Hokage?"

Tsunade glanced at her, "Everyone who took or aimed for that seat are fools, Minato, Kushina, my grandfather, all of them died for nothing. The village will never see the truth of their efforts, just enjoying their life with big smiles."

Hikari narrowed her eyes at her godmother, "So you mean my parents, the Shodaime, Niidaime, and those who strived to be Hokage, we are all fools?"

Tsunade, despite having drunk quite some amount of sake, didn't fail to notice she say 'we'. The Sannin just stared at her, "Yes, and Sarutobi-sensei is also one of them, he is merely lucky."

Killing intent filled the area, causing almost everyone to feel shivers down their spine, and those were the stronger ones like Shizune. Jiraiya and Tsunade, while they didn't say it, were impressed at the killing intent pouring out of the 'last known' Uzumaki.

Hikari spoke calmly, "Jiraiya-sensei, let's go home, this is a waste of time."

Jiraiya blinked, "Eh?"

Hikari stood up, "We came here to bring Senju Tsunade of the Sannin back to Konoha, to heal Hokage-sama and be the Godaime Hokage. But it seems she is nothing but a shell, an old hag who bears the same name of the Slug Sannin."

Shizune was shocked to hear the young girl's words and Jiraiya was flabbergasted that his goddaughter actually had spoke those words.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, "What did you just say?"

Hikari stared back with equal intensity, surprising the two other shinobi at the table, "I did not stutter, did I, you old hag?"

Tsunade glared at the younger blonde, "You wanna take this outside?"

Shizune started to say, "Tsunade-sama... "

Hikari cut her off, "Why not?"

Jiraiya just sighed and shook his head as the two blondes headed out to the streets. Since it was the evening, the street was relatively empty for their bout.

Tsunade stood opposite of Hikari, she held up one finger. Hikari was a bit confused, "What? One minute?"

The Sannin spoke, "One finger, that's all I need to beat you."

Hikari felt annoyed. The woman knew nothing of her and underestimated her, that could work.

Jiraiya spoke up, seeing that spark in Hikari's eyes, "Tsunade-hime, I don't think you should underestimate her."

The woman hmph'd, "She may be Kushina and Minato's daughter. But at her age, she's what, a Gennin?"

She wasn't wrong, since because of the invasion, Hikari never got to be promoted. But with Hikari, using rank to measure her strength was a big mistake.

Hikari immediately charged forward with a speed that surprised Tsunade. The Sannin quickly shook off the shock and jumped away to dodge a punch from Hikari. But the Sannin was forced to cross her arms to block the wave of chains that shot out off Hikari's back as the girl fell forward due to the momentum of her missed punch.

Tsunade was sent skidding away on her feet by the impact of the strike, and she was very impressed by the force behind that attack. To be honest she felt like she couldn't win with only one finger, with that one attack, Hikari had to be at least low Jounin. But Tsunade's pride demanded she win with one finger, she herself had said it after all.

As Tsunade stabled herself from the attack, Hikari spoke, "I thought you were going to win with only one finger?"

Tsunade growled silently and swung her arm, striking the ground with her finger. The simple action caused the ground to split apart and Hikari jumped up to avoid the chasm.

The Uzumaki ignited a Chidori in her right arm and blurred forward. Then she thrust her arm forward. Tsunade's eyes widened at the attack and she decided Hikari was far more dangerous than she thought.

The Sannin grabbed Hikari's wrist to stop the attack. But Hikari wasn't done, making a Rasengan in her left arm, she thrust it forward, Tsunade was surprised at that second attack, but she wasn't a Sannin for nothing.

The woman grabbed Hikari's other wrist with her other arm, holding the girl's arms in place with her superior strength. Tsunade was about to knock Hikari out with a headbutt when she saw her goddaughter smirk.

Before she knew it, Hikari detonated the Rasengan in her hand, causing the sphere of compressed rotating chakra to expand and push Tsunade halfway through the street.

Shizune yelled in worry, "Tsunade-sama!"

The woman rushed towards her master as the Rasengan died out, revealing a battered Tsunade. The woman, while having took on the attack, was just a little winded. It took a lot to wear the woman down and a normal sized Rasengan was obviously not enough.

Tsunade raised her hand, "I'm fine, Shizune."

The woman stared at her goddaughter, "I'm impressed, you caught me off guard there. You're not bad. But, why do you want to be Hokage?"

Hikari stared back, "I've always wanted recognition, the Hokage had that, but more importantly, I want to protect my family, I want to protect Kirito-kun, Sinon-chan, Asuna-chan and Suguha-chan."

Tsunade stared at the girl, and to her surprise, all she could see was determination to achieve her goal. The woman chuckled, "I see, you really are their daughter. You're a perfect mixture of Minato and Kushina."

The woman nodded, "Okay, I'll follow you back. But before that, Jiraiya, we need to talk."

A while later, in Jiraiya's room in a nearby inn, Jiraiya and Tsunade were discussing. Jiraiya sighed, "So, Orochimaru wanted you to join him?"

The woman nodded, "Yeah. He wanted to gather some forces and fully destroy Konoha. But, now with Hikari here, I won't join him."

Jiraiya nodded, "I see. Then what are you gonna do?"

Tsunade smirked, "He told me to give him an answer in a week. So Jiraiya, will you help me skin a snake?"

Jiraiya's smirk was all the answer she needed.

Meanwhile, in Hikari's room, one of Hikari's dragon puppy summons was chasing Tonton around the room, breathing embers of fire at the pig, to the amusement of Shizune and Hikari.

Shizune asked, "So, Hikari-san, I know you're Yondaime-sama and Kushina-sama's daughter, so I'm curious, how is life in Konoha?"

Hikari looked away from the dragon puppy and the pig to Shizune. The girl slumped onto the bed, "Well, no one knew who my parents were, but they knew of my status as the Jinchurikii of the Kyuubi, so all my life I was hated."

Shizune was shocked at that, "You're the Jinchurikii of the Kyuubi?"

Hikari nodded, "Yeah, somehow someone leaked it out even though Hokage-sama deemed it an S-ranked secret. But then I met the four of them, I met my family. Then everything gradually improved, its because of them I'm where I am now."

Shizune smiled at her, "I see. Then what about Jiraiya-sama, he really didn't show up until recently?"

Hikari huffed, "That pervert didn't bother visiting us for sixteen years. I know he's my godfather, but I don't feel it, or at least not now."

Shizune nodded, "About Tsunade-sama, I hope you don't hate her."

Hikari glanced at the elder woman, "Why would I hate her? I mean she didn't even know I was there, I blame Hokage-sama and Jiraiya-sensei more."

Shizune looked at the girl, "So, does that mean you'll give her a chance?"

Hikari giggled, "I'm here, am I not?"

Shizune nodded and then the two engaged in small talk until Tsunade came in for Shizune.

The next day, in a secluded fielf near the village, Tsunade was teaching Hikari her super strength technique. The woman wanted to teach her medical ninjutsu, but decided she would do that once they returned to Konoha. Besides, once she became Hokage, she sure as hell was going to establish that medical nin class.

Now, Tsunade stood in front of her goddaughter, "My strength technique is actually very simple, first, build up chakra in whatever parts of your body, your fists, your legs and so on."

The Uzumaki nodded as the woman demonstrated, allowing her arms to take on a faint blue glow, which faded shortly. Tsunade walked to a boulder, "Then, when you attack, release all that pent up chakra in one go, like how you do with the Rasengan."

She punched, but not touching the boulder as a huge shockwave shattered it to pieces. Hikari 'oh'd in awe as the pieces of the boulder flew away.

Hikari nodded and walked to a tree, trying it for herself, she charged chakra into her fist and punched the tree lightly, releasing all the chakra in her fist.

But instead of blowing the tree to pieces like Tsunade did with the boulder, all Hikari did was exactly like what happened when you put too much chakra in tree walking, except at a much larger scale.

Hikari just stared at the burned bark with a deadpanned expression. Tsunade chuckled, "You got the concept right, just keep trying until you get the proportion of the chakra right. Besides, it helps with chakra control."

Hikari sighed and started to try again and again with the technique, gradually getting closer to what Tsunade was doing every single day.

After trying for what seemed like the hundredth time, Hikari sighed as they headed to have lunch. Jiraiya was somewhere in the village, most probably the hotsprings, while Shizune had took Tonton to browse the area.

Now, Tsunade sat opposite of Hikari. The sannin asked her goddaughter, "So, after sixteen years, how was your life in Konoha? I mean you're the holder of a certain big red furry chakra being."

Hikari giggled slightly at the description of the Kyuubi and the sound of said bijuu grumbling in the back of her mind, "Well, it wasn't bad. I mean the villagers did ignore me and all that, but I had a good family."

Tsunade smiled, she knew that face, she saw it in Kushina whenever Minato was mentioned. The sannin asked, "So, who's this guy?"

Hikari blinked, "Eh?"

Tsunade continued, "I've lived decades more than you have, I know that look. I know I am a shitty excuse of a godmother, but I want to know."

Hikari smiled, "At least you didn't know I was even alive, that makes you better than Jiraiya-sensei a whole lot."

Tsunade chuckled, "Better than Jiraiya huh, that doesn't really say much though."

Hikari laughed in response before Tsunade asked, "So?"

The Uzumaki nodded, "His name is Kirito. He's been by my side ever since we met at the orphanage, along with three girls who are basically my sisters."

The elder blonde nodded, "I see. Is he strong?"

Hikari nodded, "I guess. I mean he's not a ninja, but he can fight."

Tsunade nodded before she asked teasingly, "I see. So, how far are you now?"

Hikari immediately turned red and glared at her godmother lightly, "It's none of your business! Besides, the others and I haven't discussed about it yet, plus we're always training and he's always working..."

Tsunade didn't miss the fact that she mentioned 'others', but she ignored it and said, "Yeah about that, I'm just saying, but since he's not a ninja and you're constantly on the field, anything can happen."

Hikari nodded before she glared at her godmother lightly, "But what's with the topic? I thought that was Jiraiya-sensei's turf."

Tsunade just laughed as the the pair of godmother and godchild bonded, slowly but surely making up for the lost time.

Meanwhile, back in Konoha, Kirito was reading through the Uzumaki sealing scrolls. He found them surprisingly easy and he found several seals he could use.

The swordsman was halfway through the third volume by now, and there was one particular seal that interested him. One that could store chakra and act as pseudo chakra reserves and chakra coils.

As he studied the seal, Kirito subconsciously scratched at his cursed mark as it pulsed, unknown to any of the people in the compound.

At the same time, in the Uchiha compound, where Sasuke was sleeping, he groaned as he turned over in his bed, revealing the glowing cursed mark.

XXX

Done. So yeah, that's the chapter. The next one will be the Sannin fight. So here's a question, should Hiruzen live? And please vote for whether Kirito gets UBW, there are only 11 votes. Given the amount of favs and follows this story has, I had hoped there would at least be 20 votes by now.

So yeah, please review, please click onto my profile to vote. Until the next chapter.


	25. Chapter 25

Hey. **Guest** , I guess you're right in a way. But I checked it and there are 20 votes now, so yeah, keep on voting. **Eddie Perez** , just vote on the poll on my profile if you want him to have UBW.

And what do you guys think, should Hiruzen die? Or should he live? Please leave your thoughts in the reviews.

XXX

A week later, it was time to skin the snake, and Jiraiya had suggested a plan, which wasn't much of a plan since all they planned was to lure Orochimaru and his lackey away to the plains outside Tanzaku Gai and go all out.

Now, Hikari and Jiraiya were hidden in the trees near Tsunade who was sitting at a rather secluded bar with Shizune, at the edge of the village. The younger blonde and the white haired man were both hiding in the trees while surpressing their chakra along with the Mesaigakure no Jutsu, so Orochimaru would have to know where to look to even notice them.

Fortunately that wasn't the case. The woman nodded to Shizune and they both stood up and walked towards the alley, which was visible to Jiraiya and Hikari.

As soon as Tsunade and Shizune stopped at the middle of the alley, Orochimaru and Kabuto appeared in the blink of an eye. The bespectacled man's presence surprised Hikari since she knew him from the Chunnin Exams, but she filed it off for later and decided to go with what they had planned.

The Hebi Sannin asked, "So, Tsunade, what is your answer?"

Tsunade kept silent for a while before she spoke, "Shizune."

Her apprentice immediately whipped out her senbon launcher and launched a volley of poison coated senbon at the two Snake summoners.

However, none of the needles actually hit their targets as Kabuto stood in front of Orochimaru, a kunai in his hands and the senbon right at his feet.

Orochimaru spoke, disappointed evident in his voice, "I had hoped you would choose the right side. It seems I overestimated you. And here I was going to revive Dan and little Nawaki."

Tsunade just glared at him before she appeared right in front of the two of them. The two snake summoners' eyes widened as Tsunade had her right leg raised, poised to kick.

Orochimaru and Kabuto jumped up just in time to dodge the devastating drop kick, which had created a massive crater on the ground.

The two men landed on one of the stone fences, Kabuto thought, 'Holy fuck! She's a fucking monster!'

Orochimaru spoke, nervousness in his voice, "Kabuto, we need to move. In the village, she'll probably destroy the place along with us."

Kabuto nodded and they jumped up to run before Tsunade yelled, "I'm not the only one you two need to look out for!"

Right as she finished that sentence, Kabuto and Orochimaru's eyes widened as Jiraiya and Hikari appeared in front of them, a Rasengan in each of their right arm.

The two snakes thought as Kabuto reinforced his body with all the chakra he could to enhance his regeneration while Orochimaru prepared to shed his skin, 'Fuck!'

Hikari slammed her Rasengan into Kabuto's abdomen while Jiraiya slammed his Rasengan into Orochimaru. The attacks sent the two not-so-poor men flying out of the village boundries into the fields as the four of them quickly chased after them.

As the four landed on the ground, Orochimaru and Kabuto got up stumbling, their injuries vanishing quickly. Orochimaru growled, "Kabuto, take the Jinchurikii and Tsunade's apprentice, I'll have a little reunion with the other two."

Kabuto nodded, "Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

Jiraiya smirked, "You girls heard him."

Tsunade chuckled, "Yeah, let's go."

Hikari, Shizune and Kabuto leaped away as Jiraiya and Tsunade faced Orochimaru. The white haired man's face turned serious, "Orochimaru, we will end you here."

Tsunade nodded, "Yeah, today, there will be one less Sannin!"

Orochimaru smirked at them, "Oh, so we're finally getting serious. Very well, I've wanted to kill you for some time, Jiraiya, Tsunade."

Jiraiya just stared at the man who he once called a brother, "Enough, let's do this."

Without warning, the three dashed forward. Orochimaru flashed through handseals and yelled, "Ninpo: Mandara no Jin!"

He pushed himself onto the ground as ten thousand snakes crawled out of his mouth. Jiraiya and Tsunade were both really grossed out by the technique and countered quickly.

The slug sannin slammed her fist onto the ground, causing a huge tremor which sent the snakes into the air as the toad sage flashed through handseals and yelled, "Katon: Karyu Endan!"

A huge concentrated stream of flames shot through the air, barbecuing the snakes alive. The snakes fell to the ground, all burnt to crisps as Jiraiya and Tsunade charged forward.

Orochimaru cursed at how simply they countered his jutsu and flashed through another set of seals, "Fuuton: Dai-"

He was cut off as he was forced to jump up to avoid a drop kick from Tsunade. The snake summoner cursed as he crossed his arms to block a heavy punch from Jiraiya, the impact sending him flying onto the ground.

Orochimaru cursed and bit his thumb, smearing his palm with blood and flashed through handseals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

He summoned two giant snakes that shot towards Jiraiya and Tsunade. The man grinned at Tsunade who nodded as they charged the snakes.

Tsunade raised her arms to grab the mouth of the huge snake, pushing against it as the snake tried to sink its fangs into her or engulf her entire being. The snake clearly underestimated her as Tsunade used her herculean strength to push the snake's jaws open.

Tightening her grip on the snake's jaws, Tsunade grunted as she pulled the snake and lifted it up. She saw Orochimaru charging at her at the corner of her eyes and flung the snake at him.

The traitor of Konoha's eyes widened as the snake crashed into him, sending him skidding across the field with the snake which returned to its realm as soon as they stopped skidding.

With Jiraiya, he dodged the first few strikes from the snake before he leaped up to dodge a swipe from the snakes tail.

The snake saw Jiraiya leaping up and opened its jaws to swallow the man, but Jiraiya was quick to act and went through a set of seals, "Ninpo: Hari Jizo!"

Jiraiya's hair extended and hardened as it wrapped itself around him. The snake closed its jaws around Jiraiya just as the jutsu took place. Then, Jiraiya pushed more chakra into his hair, causing the spikes that were his hair to extend, skewering the snake from the inside out, causing it to poof out of existence.

Orochimaru growled as he got up and glared at his two former teammates. Jiraiya and Tsunade glared back with equal if not more intensity before the three former teammates charged each other.

Meanwhile, Kabuto faced Hikari and Shizune some distance away from the three Sannin. Kabuto spoke smugly, "Give up, you two can't possibly hope to win. I am as strong as Hatake Kakashi himself, what can the two of you do?"

The two kunoichi just glared at him. Hikari asked, "Kabuto, I thought you were a ninja of Konoha, why help Orochimaru?"

Kabuto blinked before he palmed his face laughing, "My god, I guess my cover was too good."

He pulled his hand away from his face and smirked evilly as he pointed to his Oto headband, "I was and still am Orochimaru's spy, I am his right hand. All that Konoha shit was just a lie, and going to the Chuunin Exams was just a disguise to gather info on several people."

Hikari glared at him before she conjured chakra chains in her hands, "I see, then we're enemies."

Kabuto chuckled, "Yes, unfortunately for you."

The man immediately charged forward, forming chakra scalpels as he closed the gap between them quickly. Hikari didn't allow him to get any closer as she swung her chains at him, causing him to lean aside to dodge the chains.

Kabuto tried to push forward to use his chakra scalpels, but he found Shizune in front of him with her own chakra scalpels. The man cursed as the two medical ninja exchanged blows, the chakra scalpels cancelling out each other each time they met.

Then, Shizune went through a set of handsigns, "Hikari, hold your breath now! Ninpo: Dokugiri!"

She spat out an amount of purple chemicals which turned into a cloud of poison smoke. The woman held her breath and turned, quickly grabbing Hikari and jumped out of the cloud.

The woman let out a breath as she stared at the cloud of poison smoke, not letting her guard down as she hoped it would be enough to take down Kabuto.

Hikari asked, curious, "Shizune-san, what is that?"

Shizune replied, not taking her eyes off of the cloud, "Poison mist, its a jutsu that converts chakra into a chemical in our lungs which turns into poison gas once its breathed out. Inhaling even a bit can kill you."

Hikari nodded in awe, "Wow, that's cool..."

Shizune giggled, "I guess it is. But it requires a really high amount of chakra control."

Then, a voice spoke from behind them, "An impressive technique, but sadly, not enough to kill me."

The two women turned to see Kabuto alive and well, his chakra scalpels poised to strike. The two kunoichi quickly leaped away just in time to dodge the attack.

Hikari growled, "Why can't you just stay dead?"

Kabuto chuckled, "Why? Because I am stronger than you, its simple."

Hikari just glared at him and ignited a Chidori in her right arm. Then she charged and swung her lightning clad arm at Kabuto. The man simply leaned back to dodge the attack before he leaped away and mocked her, "I've seen through your moves, you can't even hit me."

Hikari growled before they heard Shizune's voice, "She's not your only opponent!"

Kabuto tch'd as he leaped back to dodge a kick from Shizune. The two women then proceeded to punch Kabuto around before the man landed some distance away from them.

Hikari growled slightly in her mind. While they managed to hit Kabuto several times, she never managed to hit him with her Chidori or Rasengan.

Then, the girl heard the Kyuubi chuckle in her mind, "Girl, if you can't hit him with a close ranged technique, make it a long ranged one."

Hikari sighed, 'Easier said than done.'

The Kyuubi smirked, "And that's why you have me here, follow my instructions."

Hikari nodded and formed a Chidori in her arm, then, following the Kyuubi's instructions, she thrust her hand forward, pushing more chakra into her arm.

In an instant, the Chidori extended and shot forward in the form of a long straight blade. The new form of the Chidori surprised both Jounin and the blade embedded itself into Kabuto's shoulder.

The Kyuubi roared, "Now skewer him!"

Hikari nodded and charged more chakra into her arm, causing the blade to discharge the electricity stored in it.

The result was Kabuto being electrocuted for some time before he managed to substitute with a log. The smoking man growled, "It seems I underestimated you."

Hikari just stared at him as she thought, 'That was awesome, I'll call this the Chidori Eiso.'

Kabuto growled, fighting the two women was harder than he initially thought. He had totally underestimated them, especially Hikari, and she wasn't even using the Kyuubi's chakra!

Shizune stood in her stance and prepared to charge when they all heard Orochimaru yell, "Kabuto!"

The three looked towards where the three legendary ninja were fighting to see all three going through handseals before they slammed their palms on the ground, yelling in unison, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Kabuto quickly caught on and bit his own thumb, going through his set of handsigns, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

In an instant, with a huge cloud of smoke, five collosal beings appeared. One was Gamabunta, the boss of the toad summons, one was Katsuyu, the boss of the slug summons, the third was Manda, the boss of the snake summons, while the other two were boss level snake summons, but not on the other three summons' levels.

Kabuto stood on one of the snakes he summoned tiredly. Summoning both snakes had almost taken every bit of chakra he had, he was literally running on fumes now. The man popped a chakra pill into his mouth, deciding to deal with the consequences later as he stood up.

Orochimaru grinned in glee, Kabuto had done well in summoning the two boss level snake summons. While they were not as strong as Manda was, they were more reasonable and could hold their own against Bunta or Katsuyu.

But the Sannin's musings were cut off by a low hiss, "Orochimaru, why have you summoned me?"

The man smiled wickedly, "Manda-sama, as you can see, I'm having a reunion with my teammates, it's time to end them."

The snake glanced at the two other boss summons before he noticed two of the snakes beside him. Manda glanced up at the man, "Fine, but I expect a hundred sacrifices after this."

Orochimaru nodded, a hundred sacrifices was a cheap price. He had more than two hundred experiments to be disposed of anyways.

With Jiraiya, Gamabunta spoke, "Jiraiya, what's this, a reunion?"

The white haired pervert spoke seriously, "Yeah, its time to skin the snake."

Bunta hmph'd, "So you're finally doing it, took you long enough."

Jiraiya nodded, "Yeah, let's do this."

The toad placed his arm on the hilt of his sword as he stared at the two snakes.

With Tsunade, the slug asked, "Tsunade, what happened?"

The woman replied, not taking her eyes off of Orochimaru, "Its time to kill him, I need your help, Katsuyu."

The summon nodded, "I will assist you in whatever way I can."

The woman nodded her thanks as they glared at the three snakes in front of them.

Kabuto smirked as he looked down at Hikari and Shizune, "This will be a battle of the titans, there is nothing you can do now."

Hikari glared at him and bit her thumb, smearing her palm with blood as she went through the handseals. The girl then slammed her palm on the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

In a huge cloud of smoke, a familiar grey dragon appeared, with Hikari and Shizune standing on its shoulder.

Bahamut grunted as he looked around, noticing the five other summons, "Hikari, so, what have you gotten yourself into this time?"

The girl replied, "Those three snakes are the enemies, Bahamut-sama, the toad and slug are allies."

Bahamut chuckled, "I see. Very well then."

Gamabunta just nodded at the dragon, who nodded back as Katsuyu bowed her head slightly. Manda hissed at the three boss summons in front of him with the two other snakes.

Bahamut spoke, "I'll take the big and purple one, you two take the others."

Jiraiya wanted to protest, but he could feel the power Bahamut exerted and wisely shut his mouth. Tsunade just nodded as she and Katsuyu faced one of the other two snakes.

Gamabunta wordlessly faced the other snake as Bahamut glowered at Manda. For a moment, the snake summon wanted to run, but his pride to prove that snakes were the better reptiles won over and he glared back with equal intensity.

Then, Bahamut opened his mouth, energy gathering in it. Manda quickly slithered out of the way as the mighty dragon let out a massive blast of chakra that destroyed the ground where Manda was.

The snake quickly slithered towards Bahamut and tried to wrap himself around the grey dragon, but Bahamut was faster. He grabbed the snake by his neck and flung him upwards.

Then, Bahamut gathered chakra in his mouth once again and released a huge wave of flames towards the snake.

The flames exploded upon contact with the snake, seemingly burning both Orochimaru and Manda alive. But the dragon and Hikari both knew better, and Shizune just tried her best to stay on board.

As expected, Manda and Orochimaru landed on the ground unharmed, with burnt skin landing on the ground, showing that Manda had shed his skin to dodge the attack.

Bahamut roared at the snake and he charged, barely aware that Shizune was trying hard not to stop screaming while Hikari was trying to stay on his shoulder.

Manda tried to put on a brave front and charged the obviously superior reptile. Then they clashed.

Meanwhile, Gamabunta and Jiraiya were facing off against one of the two other snakes. The toad readied his sword and stared at the snake, ready to act at any moment's notice.

Then the snake shot forward. Gamabunta leaped up in response, flipping his body so that he was facing downwards as he knew the snake would follow after him.

The toad was not disappointed. The snake had its jaw wide open, ready to eat at least Jiraiya. But the two of them weren't gonna let the snake get an easy meal.

Gamabunta yelled, "Jiraiya!"

The man smirked as he went through a set of seals, "Yeah! Katon: Gamayu Endan!"

The man shot a stream of flames out as Gamabunta spat out a huge amount of toad oil from his mouth. The snake hissed as it couldn't dodge in time, so it did the next best thing, it shed its skin.

Like what happened with Bahamut, the two saw the burnt skin as they barely caught the snake drilling into the ground.

Gamabunta landed before he jumped again to avoid a stab from the snake's tail. The toad spun and moved to throw his sword, but he was too late as the tail shrunk back into the ground, leaving a huge hole in the ground.

The toad landed on the ground, careful to avoid any attacks. Gamabunta growled lowly, "Fucking snake, I can't sense it."

Jiraiya nodded, "Me too. Be careful, Bunta."

The toad grunted, "Yeah."

The toad then felt the ground rumble as a sharp tail shot out from the ground. Gamabunta acted quickly and moved backwards, allowing the tail to shoot pass him.

Then he grabbed it, and the toad pulled hard. With the toad's superior strength, he managed to fling the snake into the air, "Jiraiya!"

The man nodded and leaped up, "Yeah! ODAMA RASENGAN!"

The mentor of the Yondaime Hokage made the largest Rasengan he could without using Sage mode, which was roughly the size of a boulder. Then he slammed it into the airborne snake.

The effect was instantaneous. Jiraiya unleashed the chakra compressed in the sphere and sent the snake flying upwards with an exploding Rasengan in its gut. As soon as it reached a certain height, the snake exploded in a rain of gore and blood.

Jiraiya landed on top of Gamabunta's head as the the rain of blood soaked his clothes. The man sighed, "I really need a shower after this..."

Bunta laughed, "You and me both. My wife is gonna kill me if I don't."

Jiraiya just laughed before Gamabunta spoke, "Well, do you still need me? I mean that dragon should be enough to kill Manda."

Jiraiya nodded, "I don't doubt Hikari's abilities, nor do I doubt that dragon, but Orochimaru is a snake after all."

Gamabunta nodded as they turned towards where Manda and Orochimaru were fighting Hikari and Bahamut.

Meanwhile, Tsunade and Katsuyu were facing off against Kabuto and his snake. The man smirked at the woman, "So I'm facing the legendary sucker. Let's see how I fare against you."

Tsunade didn't bother replying, "Katsuyu."

The slug nodded and spat out a wave of acid slime at the snake. Kabuto just smirked as his snake swiftly avoided the attack and charged the slug.

The snake quickly tried to wrap itself around the slug, but Katsuyu quickly dissolved into a thousand smaller versions of herself, escaping the snake as she reformed some distance away.

That was when Kabuto noticed that Tsunade wasn't standing on top of the slug anymore. The man's eyes widened as he turned to see the blonde behind him, her fist right in front of his face.

The man barely had time to enforce his body with chakra as Tsunade slammed her fist into his face, sending him crashing straight into the ground.

The man groaned painfully. For the first time in years, Kabuto was grateful for Orochimaru's pain endurance training, which he really hated. He was also grateful for his regeneration factor, or he would need plastic surgery to fix his face.

The white haired man threw his broken glasses away as his chakra painfully healed his broken face. He had underestimated Tsunade, but then again he did deserved it for thinking he could actually beat her easily, even if the woman was rusty.

The man quickly focused chakra into his eyes, only to see Tsunade in front of him again. The man spat out blood as the woman slammed her fist into his gut, sending him flying upwards.

The man shot straight upwards, barely remaining conscious as his healing factor did its work, healing his organs as he slowly decelerated.

As Tsunade looked at the falling figure of Kabuto, she noticed something wet on her cheek. Curious, the woman touched it and saw blood.

Instantly, Tsunade started to hyperventilate. Memories of Dan and Nawaki's deaths resurfaced in her mind as the woman stood there, her face expressionless.

Katsuyu yelled in concern, "Tsunade-sama!"

The slug cursed as she dodged a swipe from the snake and spat a glob of acid at it, trying to send it back to its realm.

To Kabuto, the man groaned as he got up from the ground, wiping the blood from the edge of his mouth. He really wanted to kill the woman now.

Then he noticed Tsunade standing there motionlessly, staring at her hand, fear evident in her eyes. Then Kabuto saw it, the blood on her fingers.

The man blinked a few times before he started to laugh, "Oh my god, haemophilia? The so called greatest medic has haemophillia?! This is rich!"

Kabuto quickly closed the distance between them and punched the woman hard, sending her onto the ground. The man spoke mockingly, "I suppose, its because you failed to save them, right? Kato Dan and Senju Nawaki."

Tsunade didn't show any visible reaction, but hearing their names had sent her further down.

Kabuto smirked as he kicked the woman's face before stepping on her head, grinding his shoes on her cheeks, "The strongest woman in the world, reduced to this with just a speck of blood. I guess in the end, you fail as a medic, you couldn't save anyone after all."

At those words, Tsunade's eyes widened. The woman remembered why she became a medical ninja in the first place. She remembered Minato and Kushina. She remembered Hashirama, Tobirama, Mito and her family. Tsunade remembered Dan and Nawaki's dreams. More importantly, the woman remembered her goddaughter who was fighting an enemy far stronger than the one she was facing.

Kabuto's face turned serious, "You didn't accept Orochimaru-sama's invitation, even when he was so generous to give you a week to decide. I will end you here."

The arrogant man raised his arm, forming a chakra scalpel. But before he could even move, Kabuto was blown away by a strong wave of chakra.

Kabuto shook his head groggily as he regained his bearings. The man looked up to see Tsunade standing, with a furious expression on her face, her diamond seal on her forehead glowing.

The woman yelled, "Who the hell do you think I am?! I am Senju Tsunade, the best medic in Konoha, more importantly, I am a godmother!"

Kabuto tch'd as he stood up, reforming his chakra scalpels. The man was running really low on chakra and it would be a miracle if he left the place alive.

Tsunade knew this, and she channeled chakra into her forehead, "Sozo Saisei Infuin: Kai!"

The seal on her head glowed and started to expand over her face and her body. Kabuto knew what was happening, the chakra in her seal was released, increasing every regeneration or healing factor by a hundred times, maybe more. More importantly, it was what he based his regeneration factor on.

Tsunade glared at the man, "You may be Orochimaru's right hand, but you forget one thing, I am far stronger than he is."

Kabuto's eyes widened as Tsunade was suddenly in front of him. He could barely even gasp as Tsunade grabbed his neck, lifting him up.

Then she slammed him onto the floor, creating a huge crater as Kabuto spat out blood. But Tsunade wasn't done, the blood also didn't seem to affect her.

The woman tightened her grip and flung Kabuto straight towards the snake which was wrestling against Katsuyu. It barely noticed its summoner flying towards it before Kabuto slammed into the snake's eye.

The impact was so huge that the snake was immediately sent back to its realm. Kabuto barely had time to force a chakra pill into his mouth to restart his healing factor before he was lifted up by Tsunade again.

The woman grunted as she threw him at a boulder, as hard as she could. The Kabuto-bullet smashed through the boulder head first, shattering the huge rock into pieces until he skidded to a stop, unconscious but still alive with his healing factor working overtime.

Tsunade huffed as she waited for a bit, half expecting the man to stand up and charge her again. But Kabuto just continued to lay there, not dead and only unconscious.

The woman wordlessly turned to Katsuyu, realising their little fight had taken them quite some distance away from where Hikari and Orochimaru were. Tsunade spoke, "Katsuyu, come on, hopefully Hikari is done with Orochimaru already."

Back with Hikari, Shizune and Orochimaru, the snake Sannin was furious. The dragon was thrashing Manda like the boss snake was nothing. Hell, it was a miracle they were still alive now.

The man growled and decided to aim for Hikari, not caring for the consequences of killing her anymore. The man drew the Kusanagi from his mouth and extended the blade towards the girl, aiming right for her throat.

Hikari never saw the sword coming, nor did Bahamut or Shizune, and the sword would have pierced right through the girl's throat right there. But instead, the Kyuubi's chakra cloak suddenly formed around her and a chakra arm grabbed the sword midair.

The Uzumaki was suprised at the sudden chakra cloak and the sword before she heard the Kyuubi's voice, "Focus, Hikari. You're up against a snake."

The girl had the tendency to smile sheepishly as she thought back, 'Thanks, Kyuubi.'

The bijuu sighed, "You're welcome, now, we've grabbed his sword. You know what to do."

Hikari grinned and nodded. The girl looked towards the sword and channeled lightning chakra into it, using the chakra arm as a link. The effects were instantaneous as Orochimaru was elctrocuted, along with Manda.

The man gritted his teeth as he substituted with a mud clone, escaping the attack as he stood on Manda's head, panting. But before he could recover, Bahamut took advantage of Manda's shocked state and breathed out a huge wave of chakra that immediately sent the snake back to its original realm, creating a huge smoke screen in the process.

Orochimaru cursed as he thought over his options. He could feel Jiraiya and Tsunade heading towards his direction, and he had severely underestimated the girl. The man knew he couldn't possibly take on a dragon boss summon, two Sannin, one Jounin level Jinchurikii and another Jounin.

The snake summoner decided to quickly leave, summoning a small snake to collect Kabuto as he vanished with a discrete Shunshin.

Soon, the cloud of smoke dispersed as Jiraiya and Tsunade landed on the ground to find Orochimaru's lack of presence.

Jiraiya sighed, "He got away again."

Tsunade nodded as she looked up at Hikari on Bahamut's shoulder, where Shizune was sighing in relief, "Though, that's quite the goddaughter we have."

Jiraiya chuckled, "Yeah, she managed to beat Orochimaru of all people in a summons battle. That's not an easy feat."

Tsunade only nodded as Bahamut let Hikari and Shizune down. The dragon spoke, "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."

Hikari beamed at the dragon, "Thanks, Bahamut-sama."

The dragon chuckled before vanished in a puff of smoke. Hikari then looked at Jiraiya and Tsunade, "Sorry, Orochimaru got away."

Jiraiya laughed, "What are you talking about?! Orochimaru RAN from you!"

Hikari blushed in embarrassment as Tsunade and Shizune nodded in agreement. The girl didn't think beating Orochimaru in a summons battle would mean so much, since it was Bahamut who did most of the fighting.

After that, they all headed back for some well deserved rest.

A while later, in an unknown base, Orochimaru threw the still unconscious Kabuto onto a sofa. The snake sannin growled as he slumped onto a chair. The man thought, 'Fucking bitch.'

He glanced down at a seal he was working on, a seal that would amplify chakra coils. Orochimaru thought, 'I suppose I should get ready to collect Sasuke-kun and Kirito.'

XXX

Done. So that marks the end of the Tsunade arc. So, the next chapter will be the beginning of the 'Sasuke/Kirito Retrieval' arc. Should Kirito join Orochimaru? Or should he help Hikari fight Sasuke? Please tell me your thoughts on that. So yeah, until the next chapter. Review please.


	26. Chapter 26

Hey guys. Thanks for the ideas, I was seriously torn between having Kirito join Orochimaru or not. But then, you can't please everyone, so, I have decided NOT to have Kirito join Orochimaru.

So yeah, with that, here is the 26th chapter.

XXX

In Amegakure, in the tallest tower in the center of the village, two people were in a room. One was a man with long red hair, while the other was a woman with short blue hair, a paper rose on her head.

The woman asked, "Nagato, are you sure? She's the Kyuubi's Jinchurikii, and possibly your last living relative."

The named Nagato nodded, "When we collect all the Bijuu except the Kyuubi, Konan, I will see what kind of person she is. If she fails to meet our expectations, then I will kill her, if not, well, I can always bring her back with the Rinne Tensei no Jutsu. Besides, I heard she's training under Jiraiya-sensei, so it might be fun to test her."

Konan just sighed, "Fine, I just wanted to remind you about that."

Nagato chuckled, "I know, but regardless, even if we are Uzumaki, I won't let it get in the way of our dream, I swore that to Yahiko after all."

The woman just nodded as they stood there, watching over the village under the rain that pours forever.

Meanwhile, outside the Konoha gates, Hikari, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune and Tonton were walking towards the gates. Hikari approached the gates where Kotetsu and Izumo were supposedly doing guard duty, AKA sleeping.

The blonde Uzumaki grinned foxily as she leaned in to the two unsuspecting and sleeping men, holding her fuinjutsu supplies.

A while later, the two Chunnin were hanging upside down from the ceiling of the hut, with their chakra and movements sealed with seals. They also looked like clowns, courtesy of Hikari's seals.

The two men just deadpanned at Hikari and Jiraiya who were laughing their asses off and Tsunade and Shizune who were trying extremely hard, but failing, not to laugh. Kotetsu spoke, "So, can you let us down now?"

Jiraiya roared with laughter, "No way! This is just fucking hilarious!"

Izumo just stared at the legendary ninja, "We were just resting our eyes..."

Tsunade shook her head, stifling with laughter, "This oughta teach you kids about sleeping on the job..."

Shizune just kept silent as she struggled not to laugh as Hikari grinned, "Well, we'll be off to the hospital, you guys continue to hang around."

The two Sannin laughed at that before the four people and one pig went off towards the hospital. Kotetsu sighed, "You guys do that... We'll fill in the records later..."

Izumo nodded, "As soon as we get down from this..."

The two never managed to release themselves, at least for a good hour before one Anbu found them and let them down, after laughing his ass off for a whole five minutes. But that's irrelevant.

At the hospital, the group of four were in Hiruzen's room. Tsunade stared at the unconscious form of her teacher, "Sarutobi-sensei..."

She shook her head before she walked over to the side of her bed, "Let's start. Shizune, I'm gonna start diagnosing his state of health, okay?"

Her apprentice nodded as Tsunade activated her jutsu, her palms glowing with green chakra. The woman ran her palms over the old man before she let out a breath.

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya, Hikari and Shizune gravely, "Sorry, his injuries are too deep. Frankly I'm surprised he held on for so long, but his recent battle shortened his life a lot. I can wake him up, but he'll only have a week left, two weeks at most."

Jiraiya sighed, "I see. If we don't wake him?"

The best medic closed her eyes, "A month at most."

Hikari stared at the old man, she still hadn't forgiven him. But seeing him in such a state still pained her, after all, regardless of what he did, Hiruzen had still treated her like a granddaughter.

The girl spoke, "I think we should wake him, I mean, he should live his remaining life to the fullest, instead of just waiting to die here on the bed."

The two Sannin stared at their goddaughter as they realized she was right. Hiruzen was already, literally, on his death bed, so instead of letting him stay in coma for the next one month before he died, he should live his one remaining week to his fullest.

Tsunade nodded, "I see. You're right, Hikari, I'll wake him up now."

But just as the medic could do it, the door opened to reveal Danzo, Koharu and Homura. The warhawk spoke in a pleased voice, "Ah, Tsunade, you're back! Its good to see you."

The woman stared at them, "Can you please leave? I'm busy now."

Danzo replied, his tone not changing, "Its been a long time since we've seen you, don't be so cold now."

The three elders were totally ignoring the fact that Tsunade was in the process of waking the Sandaime Hokage. Koharu spoke up, "Now, Tsunade, since you're back, we want you to be the Godaime Hokage."

Hikari frowned, "But she's waking Hokage-sama up, can you just stop?"

Homura stared at the girl coldly. They didn't care if Hikari was Minato's daughter. But before they could say anything, Jiraiya glared at them, "If you don't leave now, we will make you."

The three elders gulped at the pressure they felt from the Toad sage and nodded before the left the room wordlessly.

Tsunade sighed, "Fucking idiots..."

The woman quickly continued as she channeled chakra into the old man's body. The Hokage's body jerked upwards before Hiruzen's eyes snapped open as he gasped from the shock of Tsunade's chakra restarting his body.

Hiruzen coughed several times before he spoke, "Tsunade?"

The woman grinned, "Good to see you awake, Sensei."

Hiruzen let out a breath, "How long was I out? What happened?"

Jiraiya replied, "You were out for weeks. We went to find Tsunade to heal you."

Hiruzen nodded, "I see. Thank you, Tsunade."

The woman nodded, "But, I didn't fully heal you..."

Hiruzen chuckled, "I know. I don't have much time left, I can feel it, you know?"

The four people stayed silent before Hiruzen asked, "So, how long do I have left?"

This time, it was Hikari who spoke, "One week, two weeks at best. But, we can't just let you stay in coma and die in a month."

Hiruzen laughed, "I see. That's right, I suppose living the one week or two of my remaining life is more worth it compared to rotting on a bed."

The four just stayed quiet before Hiruzen sighed, "I'm not dead yet. Besides, its not as if I'm dying of some disease, its old age! Don't be so down!"

Everyone blinked before Jiraiya chuckled, "Old man's right. Come on, let's get you discharged."

The old man just chuckled as they helped him get up to be discharged. After a brief checkup to check if there was anything life threatening or not of course.

The next day, Hikari stood in front of Hiruzen in the Sarutobi clan compound. The man spoke, "Hikari, I know I made a mistake in hiding your heritage. I-"

He was cut off by the girl, "Hokage-jiisan, I can't really stay that mad at you now, you know?"

Hiruzen stared at the young girl as she spoke, "I know you had your reasons, and yes, I really hated that you did it. But at least you did it with good intentions, right? I don't want to hate my grandfather until he died."

Hiruzen blinked several times before he chuckled, "You really have grown into a mature beautiful young woman, your parents would be proud of you."

Hikari just smiled before her smile faded, "Just so we're clear, you're gonna make it up to me the next few days."

Hiruzen chuckled, "Of course."

Hikari nodded before she asked, "So, was there anything else?"

Hiruzen shook his head, "I just wanted to clear out that little wedge, I missed my surrogate granddaughter."

Hikari sighed and shook her head, "You're talking as if I left. Besides, its your fault you know?"

Hiruzen laughed, "I suppose it is. So, I heard you defeated Orochimaru in a summons' battle."

Hikari sighed, "Jiraiya-sensei told you, didn't he?"

The old Hokage chuckled, "Of course, though I'm impressed. In less than three years, you beat Orochimaru in a boss summons' battle. That little snake wasted years to get Manda to fight with him."

Hikari groaned, "It's not like I defeated him in person. Bahamut-sama did most of the work."

Hiruzen chuckled, "I know what you're thinking. The summon does all the fighting, but the summoner does nothing, so it means its the summon who's strong, not the summoner, yes?"

Hikari nodded as the man continued, "That's true. But there are many styles of combat, take the Suna ninja's puppetry, they are strong because of their puppets. We don't say the puppeteers are weak because the puppets do the work, we say people are strong because they get the job done."

Hiruzen let out a breath, "Besides, remember Hanzo the Salamander? He was strong and feared because of his summons. Hanzo himself was strong, yes, but the true strength, lied in his summons. Hikari, being strong isn't just about using strong jutsu to defeat a strong opponent."

The girl nodded, "I know. But you all make it like relying on a summon to defeat a stronger opponent is something to be proud of."

Hiruzen chuckled, "A summon, is a representation of the summoner, like the Hokage is a representation of our village. The fact that you could summon Bahamut, proves that you are strong, or at least that you have the potential to be strong. _That_ is something to be proud of."

Hikari just nodded before Hiruzen spoke, "Well, that's all I have to say. I believe the others are waiting for you?"

The girl nodded, "Yes, then, I'll be going then."

Hiruzen nodded, "By the way, can you get Tsunade to come here? I have something to tell her. "

Hikari nodded, "Sure, I'll see you later, Hokage-jiisan."

The man nodded as the girl left. As soon as she left, Hiruzen stared out of the window. He had been relieved of his paperwork for the Hokage by Jiraiya and Tsunade to let him spend his time with his family. The old man had also planned to go out with Asuma and Konohamaru, but he needed to get something done, his final job as the Sandaime Hokage.

With Hikari, she was trying her best to ignore the villagers that were calling put to her, putting on a smile as she walked along the streets. The girl had lost count of the fanboys that had came at her before she made several clones to lure them away.

Soon, she reached the Hokage's office where Tsunade and Shizune were working in Hiruzen's place. Jiraiya was probably peeking at some hotsprings, but that man was the furthest thing on her mind.

Hikari entered the office and greeted, "Tsunade-baasan, Shizune-san."

Shizune smiled in response as she worked on the paper work while Sannin replied, "Hey, what do you want?"

Hikari spoke, "Hokage-jiisan wanted you to go meet him, he wanted to tell you something."

The woman nodded, "Sure. Shizune, you can handle these for a while, right?"

Shizune nodded, "Sure, Tsunade-sama."

The Sannin placed the paper down as she headed for the door until Hikari said, "Well, I'll see you later. You're coming over for dinner, right?"

Tsunade nodded, "Sure, you're not coming with me?"

Hikari shook her head, "I'm gonna go find Kirito-kun. Besides, I think he wants to talk to you alone."

The older blonde just nodded as they both left to do their own stuff. The woman wondered what her old teacher wanted. If she remembered correctly, Hiruzen was planning to spend the day with his family.

Tsunade quickly reached the Sarutobi clan compound and she knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal Asuma. The Jounin greeted, "Tsunade-sama, welcome. My father is waiting."

The woman nodded as the son of the Third Hokage led her to Hiruzen's room. Tsunade nodded her thanks to the man before she entered the room.

As soon as she entered, she saw Hiruzen sitting by the window, Hiruzen smiled, "Ah, Tsunade, welcome."

The woman smiled back, "So, what did you want, sensei?"

Hiruzen gestured to the chair, "Have a seat."

Tsunade nodded and sat down as her old teacher spoke, "You know how I have another week and a half at most. I need a successor to act as the Fifth Hokage."

Tsunade nodded, "I know. Jiraiya and Hikari told me about that. But, you know how I feel about that position. It took a lot from me."

Hiruzen nodded, "I know. The hat took away your grandfather, your grand uncle, Minato, Kushina, Dan and Nawaki. But, there isn't anyone else who can take it. Would you rather have Jiraiya do it?"

Tsunade sighed. She knew there wasn't many who could take the hat. They couldn't let Danzo take it especially, and Jiraiya would probably make it where kunoichi must wear skimpy outfits, which would increase the efficiency for seduction missions, but it still wasn't something Tsunade could accept.

Seeing his former student's silence, Hiruzen spoke again, "Just think of this as a man's dying wish. I know you can do it."

Tsunade glared at him lightly, "That's not fair, you know..."

Hiruzen laughed, "I know, but then, when has life ever been fair to you."

Tsunade sighed, "Don't remind me."

The old man chuckled, "Well, think of it this way. You're keeping the seat warm for Hikari to take it. You can also protect her with the position, possibly far better than I ever could."

The woman sighed again, "Fine. I'll take the damn hat. But I'll do things my way, if I see something wrong, no matter who or what it is, I'm fixing it."

Hiruzen smiled, "That's all I ask."

Tsunade nodded, "Got it, anything else?"

Hiruzen shook his head, "Nope, that's all. Now, I'm gonna spend my day with my family."

Tsunade nodded as she headed to the door, "Sure. Have fun sensei."

Hiruzen just nodded as he laughed, walking towards the door with Tsunade.

Meanwhile, with Hikari, she was walking towards Kirito's shop as the Kyuubi spoke to her, "Hikari, about the fourth tail."

The girl replied mentally, 'What about it?'

The Kyuubi said, "Well, I haven't told you much about what you could do in that form, right?"

Hikari nodded, 'So?'

The Kyuubi nodded, "In the fourth form, which is the second version of the chakra cloak, you will be totally covered with my chakra, thus looking like a miniature female version of me. You will be able to do a smaller version of the Bijuudama and if I remember correctly, your physical prowess will increase a hundred times. "

Hikari oh'd, 'I see. That's awesome. But I'm curious, what about your full nine tails?'

The Kyuubi chuckled, "That's gonna be a while before you can reach it. If I was a dark dirty bastard and if you were a loud boy wearing neon orange jumpsuits, I would have you fight me to earn it. But since we are neither, when the time comes, all you need to do is win a game of tug of war with me. "

Hikaru raised an eyebrow, 'Win a game of tug of war?'

The Kyuubi nodded, "Yes. If its any of the other bijuu, they can just let you use it. But my chakra is far powerful compared to their's, even if I am lacking my other half. And especially since I'm lacking my other half, I cannot fully materialise like they can."

Hikari blinked, 'So what do we do?'

The Kyuubi shrugged, "Well you can use the full bijuu form, once you earn it of course, but if I have my full chakra, it would be much better. But since that half of my chakra was sealed into your father's body..."

Hikari then asked, 'So can I just unseal your chakra from my dad's body?'

The bijuu shrugged, "I don't think it'd work that way. But who knows? We'll talk about it later, you're reaching that kid's shop."

Hikari nodded, 'Okay, I'll talk to you later, Kyuubi.'

The bijuu just nodded as he felt the link cut off. He then looked down to see a familiar blonde man wearing a white Hokage robe. The bijuu asked, "So, when are you or Kushina gonna reveal yourselves?"

The man smiled at the beast, "It's not time yet. But I suppose it will be soon."

The bijuu nodded, "Fine. Don't keep her waiting, I mean she doesn't know about the two of you being here, but if you hide it for too long, well, you remember what happened to the boy and the third Hokage."

The man just smiled, "I know. Thanks anyways, Kyuubi."

The bijuu just hmph'd as he started to sleep, the blonde man vanishing from view.

Outside with Hikari, the girl entered her boyfriend's shop to see Klein at the counter.

(Flashback)

Three days after fighting Itachi and Kisame, Kirito was in his shop maintaining Kakashi's tanto. The man had finally bothered to drop by for maintenance and Kirito had wanted to kick the cyclop's ass for doing an abysmal job at taking care of the sword.

As the blacksmith ran a piece of cloth across the blade, he noticed a familiar red haired man enter the shop. Kirito greeted the man, "Hey, what's up?"

The swordsman did not expect the man to bow, "Kiri-no-ji! You're my buddy right? Can I work here?"

Kirito blinked several times before he asked, "Erm, I thought you were against working for me."

Klein spoke, not rising from his bow, "I know! But no one wants me!"

Kirito stared at the sake bottle at Klein's pocket, "I wonder why..."

The man cried, "Please take me in! I'll do whatever job you give me! Clean the shop, advertise your shop, anything!"

Kirito sweat dropped before he sighed, "Sure."

Klein continued to cry, "I know I'm not the best friend but... Wait, what did you say?"

Klein raised his head at that last part as the younger man put down the chakra saber and walked to the man, "Well, you've been jobless for quite a while. Besides, if your performance is good, I might just teach you how to forge weapons."

Klein's face brightened up and he hugged the young man tightly, "THANKS MAN!"

And thus Klein started working for Kirito.

(Flashback end)

Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha thought Klein was a decent man, if you ignored his drinking habits and loud behavior. So they didn't have much of a problem.

As Hikari entered the shop, Klein greeted, "Ah, Hikari, you here for Kirito?"

Hikari nodded with a smile, "Yeah, Asuna-chan and the others should be training, so I thought Kirito-kun might be free."

Klein nodded and yelled, "Oi boss! Hikari's here!"

Kirito yelled back from the back of his shop, "Tell her to come to the back! And I told you not to call me boss!"

Klein chuckled and looked at the blonde, "Well, you heard the man."

Hikari just sweat dropped and nodded, "Thanks, Klein. I'll see you later."

Klein nodded and went back to watching the shop, cleaning it here and there as he did.

Hikari walked towards the back to see Kirito hammering a piece of metal at the forge. The girl spoke, "Hey, Kirito-kun."

The swordsman replied, not taking his eyes off his work, "Hey, Hikari-chan. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you have a team meeting or something?"

The blonde leaned on one of the tables and played with the red ends of her hair, "Well, Sasuke is probably still brooding somewhere and I have no idea where Sakura is. Besides, Kakashi-sensei didn't mention anything since I came back with Tsunade-baasan."

Kirito chuckled, "Tsunade let's you call her that?"

Hikari nodded, "Yeah, I mean since she _is_ my godmother, I thought calling her that would be appropriate, and she hasn't said anything about not calling her that."

Kirito nodded, "I see."

Hikari then spoke, "By the way, Tsunade-baasan is coming over for dinner tonight, that's okay, right?"

Kirito nodded as he placed the piece of metal into the water, "Of course. After I finish with the sword, we can go get some groceries."

Hikari nodded as she sat there waiting for the blacksmith, having small talk as Kirito forged the blade.

Meanwhile, in the training fields, Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and Yugao were sparring. Right now, Sinon and Yugao were watching Asuna and Suguha spar, both in their sage modes.

The Jounin was quite impressed with her students' growth. They had learnt the equivalent of Jiraiya's sage mode and were coming along nicely. Yugao had absolutely no doubts her students would become monsters in battle in the future. They were frightening enough now already, so when they reached their prime, Yugao just pitied their enemies.

Now, Suguha dodged a stab from Asuna before she spun and delivered a downward slash to the blue haired girl. Asuna swiftly dodged the slash by tilting her body to the side.

Asuna then quickly turned and swung her blade horizontally at the blonde girl. Suguha could only leap away as the blade narrowly passed her nose.

Suguha pouted, "That was dangerous Asuna-chan!"

Asuna just smiled as she charged her sister in all but blood. The girl channeled water chakra into her blade and thrust her rapier at Suguha. The blonde responded by charging her blade with wind chakra and swung her blade upwards.

Right before attacks could collide however, both girls heard Yugao yell, "Stop!"

As soon as the two heard their teacher, they stopped their attacks, the blades just one inch apart before they came into contact. Yugao sighed as she rubbed her temples, "My god, how the hell did you guys become so strong? You're at least Jounin level now!"

Asuna and Suguha just smiled as they let go of the nature chakra, letting their hair revert to their normal colour. Sinon spoke cheekily, "Yugao-sensei is just jealous."

The purple haired woman glared at the brunette lightly, "No I am NOT jealous. I am just surprised."

Yugao sighed, "Seriously, it has not been two years since you three become Gennin."

Suguha grinned, "That just shows how awesome we are."

Asuna nodded in agreement as Yugao shook her head, "You know what... Let's drop it. I'm not complaining anyways..."

The three girls just sweatdropped as they thought in unison, 'She was complaining just now though.'

Yugao then spoke again, "Well, I guess that's all. You girls can go home. I'm gonna go to visit Hayate-kun."

The girls just nodded as they left, knowing that their mentor was still hurting from Hayate's death.

Later at night, in the Namikaze compound, Kirito, Asuna, Hikari, Suguha, Sinon, Jiraiya, Shizune and Tsunade were sitting at the dinner table, having dinner.

Kirito was feeling a biy awkward, having dinner with Tsunade sitting there. He didn't mind Jiraiya, but the blonde busty woman was making him a bit nervous, probably because she had the right to threaten him about Hikari and so on, and probably because he was having a polygamous relationship with her god-daughter.

Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and Hikari were trying hard not to laugh since they knew what Kirito was thinking. Jiraiya just kept silent because he knew if he said one wrong word, its goodbye manhood. As for Shizune, she was just enjoying the food Kirito and Asuna cooked.

Tsunade noticed the awkward atmosphere and spoke up, "So, what's with you guys, especially you, Kirito, was it? I won't bite."

Jiraiya coughed and muttered, "Tsunade won't bite?"

The woman stared at the man and asked calmly with an edge in her voice, "What was that Jiraiya?"

The man yelped, "Nothing!"

The four girls at the table laughed as Kirito just shook his head. Tsunade then stared at the young man, "Ease up. I may be one of the Sannin, but that idiot is also one of us. I'm as human as you are. Besides, we're gonna be family, right?"

Tsunade looked at Hikari at that last part as her goddaughter nodded with a smile. The woman then stared at Kirito with a hard gaze, "To be honest I'm not too happy with your relationships, but Hikari wanted it, so unless you hurt her, we're gonna get along just fine."

Kirito nodded quickly, "Yes ma'am."

The dinner progressed without any problems as they talked and ate like an actual family. But as they ate, Tsunade and Jiraiya noticed the mark on Kirito's neck glow faintly, and while it was faint, the two felt a strange aura from the young man.

A week later, everyone gathered in front of the Hokage's tower. The fact that Hiruzen didn't have much time wasn't a secret, and many people expected a new Hokage to be appointed.

Hiruzen walked onto the balcony of the Hokage tower. It had been awhile since he stood there and it was refreshing. The man channeled chakra into his throat and he spoke aloud, "Good afternoon, all of you. As you all know, my time is coming to an end."

He waited but there was no response, only a somber silence. Hiruzen sighed and yelled, "I may have around a week left, but I'm not dead yet! Don't act like I am dead already!"

Hiruzen let out a breath and spoke again, "I have taken the hat not once but twice. To be honest I should have retired the first time I passed down the hat, but I retook the mantle of Hokage. Now, I am passing it down to the Godaime Hokage. Now do me a favour and applaud as I present to you, Senju Tsunade, our Fifth HOKAGE!"

Tsunade stepped forward as the crowd applauded. The woman nodded at her sensei before turning to the crowd, "Sarutobi-sensei has done an awesome job at being Hokage, and frankly I don't think anyone here wants him to step down. He's also always talking about protecting the village and our Will of Fire, that's why, from here and now on, I WILL PROTECT THE VILLAGE, AS THE FIFTH HOKAGE! "

The crowd roared in approval as they chanted," GODAIME! GODAIME!"

Another week later, everyone was in a room in the hospital, with Hiruzen laid on a bed, an oxygen mask on his face. Throughout the two weeks, his body had gradually grown weaker, to the point that he had to be hospitalised. And by then, everyone knew the Hokage they respected was at the end of his journey.

Hiruzen knew his time was up and he was prepared for it. Tsunade closed her eyes, "Sarutobi-sensei, I'm sorry, for all the trouble we caused."

Hiruzen chuckled weakly, "You three were like monkeys, though it really does seem like it was yesterday when I took you, Jiraiya and Orochimaru as my students."

Jiraiya forced a smile, "Yeah, it was a great honor to have learnt under you."

The old man stared at the Sannin, "The same can be said for me. Out of all three, you came out as the most decent student."

Jiraiya just nodded as Hiruzen looked at Hikari who was standing behind the two Sannin, "Hikari, become stronger, I know you will be Hokage."

Hikari nodded as Hiruzen looked at Konohamaru who was crying. The old Hokage smiled, "Konohamaru, stop crying. I thought Hikari taught you that."

Konohamaru sobbed, "You can't die yet! You're the Professor!"

Hiruzen chuckled, "Death is a part of life, my boy. One day, you will understand."

He looked at Asuma, "Asuma, my son. I don't think I have to tell you much, you have always been fine on your own, I never had to worry much about you."

The man nodded, "I know."

Hiruzen chuckled, "Get a life, a family of your own, and stop smoking. That is my final mission for you."

Asuma chuckled, "I don't think I can stop smoking, but, is that an order?"

Hiruzen laughed weakly, "Yes, it is an order, from your father."

Asuma nodded and smiled. Hiruzen looked out of the window and saw the majority of the village's populace standing there, looking at them. Hiruzen spotted Kirito, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha standing amongst the crowd, he also spotted Kayaba and many other people he knew, Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, Yugao, Inoichi, Shikaku, Chouza and many more.

The man spoke, "Now, this is a sight to behold."

Hikari spoke, "You are important to all of us after all."

Hiruzen chuckled, "I guess I am. My life wasn't the best one, I've made many many mistakes, but I have no more regrets. Seeing everyone here, haha, its comforting."

His laughs grew weaker as everyone stared at him somberly. Hiruzen thought, 'I never did tell Kirito about his blood, well, I'll just leave it to Akihiko then. My family, my village, may the Will of Fire burn brightly in all of you.'

With those thoughts, Hiruzen's breath grew thin, and the heart rate monitor flattened.

On that day, the village of Konohagakure lost their leader, and the heavens wept for the death of a great man.

XXX

Done! So the next chapter will officially be the start of the 'Rescue Arc'. And Hiruzen is dead, **Sajian** , I know many fics killed him off but there also quite some fics that kept him alive, or at least I have read quite a number of them.

So yeah, review please. Until the next chapter.


	27. Chapter 27

Hey, so this is the 27th chapter. So **Guest-questioner** , first off, now, Kirito's cursed mark will serve as means to access his Underworld abilities, the first stage being the Incarnate System. I have yet to decide on the second stage. But the cursed mark will only be temporary, just so I make it clear. And no, Kirito will not have berserker tendencies like Jugo.

As for who's going after Sasuke, it will still be Hikari, but I won't have the original 'Sasuke retrieval team'. I mean, having Sinon fight against Kidomaru in a spider vs cat battle does sound like an interesting idea, no?

And unlike cannon, where Naruto goes after Sasuke because he sees him as a brother, Hikari has no real ties to him, so it will only be because of a mission, and because letting Sharingan fall into Orochimaru's hands is a bad idea.

To whether the story will carry into Shippuden, well, I guess you can say so. I will officially be implementing elements the SAO arcs into the story, so it will be a mix if these two series.

As for jutsu, well, they will come. Hikari will definitely be getting the Rasen-Shuriken and Hiraishin. Not too sure about the Reverse Harem, but it might be fun to do.

So yeah, here's the latest chapter.

XXX

In Konoha, things had been dull. The Sandaime Hokage's death was still on the minds of many people, even after a few days.

But unfortunately, there was one young man who didn't care about the Sandaime Hokage. The young man had his whole family slaughtered by his own brother, and one old man who wasn't an Uchiha or Hikari didn't mattered to him.

Sasuke punched the training dummy one more time as he panted. He had been discharged from the hospital after Tsunade healed him. The young Uchiha despised the fact that Tsunade of all people helped him.

They were both the last of their clans, just as Hikari is the last of the Uzumaki clan, yet among the three clans that had formed Konoha, the Senju, Uzumaki and Uchiha clans, Sasuke was the weakest.

The teen felt like he was dishonoring his dead brethen by being the weakest among the three last members of their respective clans.

Then there was Kirito. Sasuke heard from Sakura and several other girls when they were gossiping that Kirito was the one to force Orochimaru of all people to retreat.

The Uchiha clenched his fists as he remembered. The Snake Sannin had beat him like Sasuke was nothing. It infuriated him, to know that Kirito had beaten Orochimaru.

He had also heard that Hikari had defeated Orochimaru in a summons' battle. That again was a stab to his pride. Yes, he was pleased and proud that the girl he chose was strong, but to know that a girl was stronger than him, a girl that was of the same age, same class and same team as him.

That knowledge made him question whether he was getting strong fast enough. He didn't care if Hikari was a Jinchurikii, he didn't care if she trained under Jiraiya or was the daughter of the Yondaime Hokage. Sasuke knew the Uchiha were the best, they always will be the best.

The young Uchiha roared at he flung his fist at the dummy again, this time shattering the training dummy into pieces. The young Uchiha sighed, he needed some rest, and tomatoes, maybe tomato ramen.

As Sasuke left to shower, he didn't notice the four figures watching him from afar.

Meanwhile, in Kayaba's shop, Kirito was standing in front of him, "What do you mean you're leaving?!"

Kayaba smiled softly, "Exactly that. I'll be leaving Konohagakure to travel around the world. Its been something I've been meaning to do for a while now."

Kirito blinked several times, "I see."

Kayaba chuckled ruffled his former apprentice's hair, "Hey, its not like I'll be gone forever. I'll only be gone for two years, three at most. You'll definitely see me."

Kirito sighed, "Fine."

The master blacksmith grinned, "That's more like it. And feel free to use this shop, I already have enough money for two lifetimes, and that is with eating the finest food you can get and wearing the finest clothes on earth."

Kirito blinked again, "Wait, you're retiring?"

Kayaba nodded, "In a way. So I'll give the shop to you. Make it a warehouse, a restraurant, a branch shop, whatever you want."

Kirito sighed, "Sandaime-sama is gone, and now you're leaving."

The man frowned, "Hey, it's not like I'm leaving forever. We'll meet again, I swear."

Kirito just nodded as Kayaba slung his bag onto his shoulder. The man walked towards the door, "Well, I should get going, no need to see me off at the gates, go take care of your shop."

Kirito wanted to protest but just nodded as Kayaba started walking, "Well, I'll see you in three years, Kirito."

Kirito just waved, "Yeah, bye, Kayaba-sensei."

The man just waved without looking back as he walked towards the village gates as he thought, 'I'm sorry Kirito. But the next time we meet, you'll probably hate me.'

The man exited the village gates after doing the standard procedures. Then after a few meters from the gates, the man vanished in a blur of red.

A while later, Hikari and Kirito were in the library in their home. The blonde decided she would test the blacksmith with his level of seals. Kirito had, under the insistance of Klein, take the day off to rest and spend the day with his four girls.

Unfortunately, it was at that time Hikari decided to test Kirito's progress with the Uzumaki fuinjutsu.

Asuna, Sinon and Suguha could only stare at them with deadpan expressions as Hikari bombarded the young man with questions, which he answered correctly before they moved on to drawing seals and so on.

Asuna spoke, "They are really into it, aren't they?"

Sinon and Suguha nodded as the archer spoke, "They've been at this for a while now."

Suguha sighed and facepalmed, "So, how long do you think they're gonna take?"

Sinon shook her head, "No idea, but Kirito-kun is really something, to have completed five volumes of the Uzumaki sealing techniques. I couldn't make heads or tails of it."

Asuna giggled, "Don't worry, we have no idea what those scrolls are talking about either."

Sinon just sighed as Suguha laughed at that response. Then, they heard a knock on the door. Or rather, the seals of the compound alerted them of people at the door.

Asuna spoke as she glanced at Hikari and Kirito who were now moving from testing Kirito on seals to discussing the Hiraishin seals, "I'll go see who it is, you two make sure that they don't blow things up with their seals."

Suguha and Sinon nodded as Hikari and Kirito yelled in unison, "We can hear you, you know?!"

Asuna just giggled as she moved towards the door. The auburn haired girl opened the door to see teams 8 and 10 along with Sakura standing there. Asuna blinked before she greeted, "Hey guys, what's with the sudden visit?"

Ino smiled, "Well, Chouji decided to treat everyone to lunch, so we were heading to his family's BBQ restaurant."

Chouji nodded, "You guys wanna come along?"

Asuna smiled and replied, "I'll ask them, you guys wanna come in first?"

They nodded as they entered the compound. As they entered, they were greeted by Suguha and Sinon. The katana user said, "Hey guys."

Asuna spoke, "They're going to have lunch, so they dropped by to see if we wanted to join."

Sinon smiled, "I'm all for it... But erm, it seems Hikari-chan and Kirito-kun are a bit preoccupied."

Everyone could hear the two of them exclaiming as they discussed about seals. They could only sweatdrop as they heard Hikari and Kirito argue about the possibilities of the seals.

Kiba blinked as he saw the rooms with labels, "Hey, those labels... Seem kinda weird, I mean how can you fit a training field in that room?"

Suguha grinned, "Well, you're better off asking Hikari-chan, or Kirito-kun. All I know is that Hikari-chan's parents used seals to do it."

Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome... This used to be the Yondaime Hokage's house, who was known to be a master of seals, along with Uzumaki Kushina. Of course there would be all kinds of strange stuff related to seals."

Hinata smiled, "Calling them strange is a bit rude, Shikamaru."

Shino nodded his head and spoke, "Strange is a bit rude, weird would be a better word."

Kiba facepalmed, "That's the same, dude..."

Shino stared at the Inuzuka, "It was a joke."

Kiba yelled in response, "How is that a joke?!"

Everyone laughed in response as Hikari and Kirito were finally finished with their discussion. Hikari spoke sternly as they walked down, "We will continue with this when we come back, the Hiraishin cannot be that simple."

Kirito nodded, "I may not be as good as you, but I will show you I am right!"

The two then heard Sinon clear her throat. The archer stared at them, "So, are you two finally done? Can we get going now?"

Kirito and Hikari blinked several times before they finally noticed the group of people waiting for them. Hikari asked, "Erm, what are you guys doing here?"

Sakura spoke, "Chouji's gonna treat us to lunch, so we thought of asking you."

Chouji nodded, "Yep, my parents said it would be fine, so I thought of inviting all of us here."

Kirito nodded, "I see. Well girls, what do you think?"

Asuna smiled, "Well, we were actually just waiting for the two of you."

Hikari chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry, so, shall we get going?"

No one objected and they quickly headed to the Akimichi's BBQ restaurant. As they walked, the group had some small talk, with Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji and Kirito surrounding the girls, blocking off the fanboys.

As they walked, Kirito asked, "By the way, Sakura, where's Sasuke?"

Sakura's expression turned a bit sad, "Well, when Ino told me about this, I went to ask him if he wanted to join us, but no one responded when I went to his place."

Kirito nodded, "I see."

The blacksmith didn't say anything else, but inside he was a bit glad that Sasuke wasn't here. It made life a whole lot easier.

Soon, they reached the restaurant and they quickly ordered their food before they started talking about recent events.

Ino sighed, "Its really sad, Sandaime-sama was like a grandfather to all of us."

No one said anything, they knew she was right. The Yamanaka continued, "But, I'm curious about Tsunade-sama as the Fifth Hokage. You brought her back with Jiraiya-sama, right, Hikari?"

The Uzumaki nodded to her fellow blonde, "Yeah. She's actually my godmother, that's why Jiraiya-sensei brought me with him."

Apart from Kirito, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha, this was news to everyone else. Ino blinked, "Wait, what?!"

Hikari nodded as she flipped a piece of pork on the grill, "Someone lied to her about me being dead, that's why she didn't stay in the village."

Kiba spoke, "So, you're the daughter of our Fourth Hokage and the goddaughter of our current Fifth Hokage..."

Asuna piped in, "She's also the heiress of the Uzumaki clan, which comes along with inheriting Uzu no Kuni."

Ino and Kiba's jaw hit the table, the young Inuzuka said in awe, "Wait, so you're practically a princess?!"

Hikari took a sip of her soda before she nodded, "If you wanna put it that way, I guess you're not wrong."

Kiba snapped his head at Kirito, "You bastard, how did you get four girls, one of them a freaking princess, to be with you?!"

Kirito blinked, "Why are you asking me? It wasn't me who came up with the idea."

Kiba gaped as Chouji asked, "Wait, so it was them who decided to share you?"

Suguha nodded, "Yeah, I mean we all love him, and we didn't want to make the other three sad if he chose one of us, so we chose to share."

Shikamaru sighed, "This is so troublesome."

Sinon nodded, "Yes, can we stop talking about our relationship?"

Ino grinned, "How can we not? I mean we're talking about the five of you here."

Asuna sighed, "Ino, please stop. It's embarrassing. Besides, go get a boyfriend, I mean for someone like you, you should have a number of people who likes you, right?"

Ino sighed and shook her head, taking a piece of meat from the grill, "Most of them are either fanboys, or they just want me because I look pretty. They're too shallow, you know?"

Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and Hikari nodded in understanding. Sakura pouted, "Must be nice... Right, Hinata?"

The Hyuga hid her blush under her coat, "Well, my father is rather strict with me, so there aren't many guys who would ask me out..."

Then, a familiar Uchiha entered the restaurant. Sakura's eyes brightened and called, "Hey, Sasuke-kun!"

The Uchiha turned to them, but his expression was less than friendly. Hell, his eyes were down right murderous. The Uchiha stomped over to their table and Kiba spoke, "What do you want, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha ignored him and glared at Kirito, "You, fight me."

Kirito blinked, "What?"

Sasuke's glare intensified, "I said FIGHT ME."

Sakura spoke up, "Sasuke-kun, what's wro-"

The Uchiha snapped at her, "Shut up! Kirito, I WANT YOU TO FIGHT ME!"

Hikari stood up and glared at the Uchiha, "Hey, Sasuke. I don't what's going on, but you don't just come in and demand anyone to fight you."

Sasuke turned his glare to the blonde. For a moment his glare softened, then Sasuke turned his glare at Kirito, "Well?"

Kirito stared at him for a while. Suguha spoke, "Kirito-kun, you don't need to fight."

Sinon nodded, "Yeah, Sasuke, please, just leave us."

Sasuke continued glaring at Kirito, "Well? Are you still going to hide behind those girls?"

The swordsman stood up to the Uchiha's level, "Sure, I'll play."

The others stared at the swordsman in shock. Asuna spoke, "Kirito-kun, you don't need to fight."

The blacksmith shook his head, "No, Sasuke's been bothering us since we were in the academy. I want to put an end to it."

Sasuke smirked, "You took the words right outta my mouth. Follow me."

Kirito nodded as they moved out of the restaurant.

Soon, the two of them stood in Training Field 7, with teams 8, 9 and 11 with Sakura watching them. Sasuke frowned, "Where are your swords?"

Kirito stared back, "I left them at home, I didn't see the need to bring them for lunch."

A smirk from on his face, "Besides, I won't need it for you."

Sasuke's Sharingan blazed with anger, "DON'T LOOK DOWN ON ME!"

The last loyal Uchiha roared as he charged Kirito. The swordsman took on a barely noticable red glow as he dodged every single punch or kick from Sasuke. Every move Sasuke made was like in slow motion to Kirito, and he wasn't even making full use of his Acceleration.

Sasuke got frustrated and flashed through a set of seals, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

The Uchiha spat out a horse sized fireball, making everyone yell in worry. But before anyone could act, Kirito raised his palm and created a red magic circle, "Destroy, Ignest."

A fireball the same size shot out of the circle, instead of the normal multiple smaller flames. The two fireballs collided and caused an explosion. The results enraged the Uchiha, fire jutsu was his pride and soul, the basics of the basics for any Uchiha. For Kirito to match his attack effortlessly, it infuriated him to no end.

Sasuke roared as he charged Kirito again, throwing a punch as he did. Like before, Kirito easily saw him coming, but instead of dodging the attack, Kirito ducked and spun, letting the fist pass by his head above his right shoulder.

Then Kirito reached up and grabbed Sasuke's extended arm, and judo flipped Sasuke straight into a tree. The small audience could only gape seeing Sasuke crashing into a tree.

Kirito let out a breath as he lowered his usage of the Acceleration. Then Sasuke burst out of the tree with a Chidori in his hand, "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Everyone was shocked at the declaration, even more so when they heard the sound of a thousand chirping birds from the A-ranked jutsu. Everyone yelled in worry, moving to intervene as Sasuke easily closed the gap between him and Kirito.

None of them would make it in time, but they didn't need to. As soon as Sasuke was within range, the red glow around Kirito increased, and the blacksmith blurred in front of Sasuke.

Kirito charged chakra into his right palm, making it glow a light blue. This was a skill he normally didn't use, the first type of skill after the one handed sword skills Kayaba taught Kirito, the martial arts skills. Then he thrust his palm into Sasuke's gut, a simple palm thrust, and sent the Uchiha flying into another tree.

Everyone fell silent as they saw the Uchiha crash into the tree again. Kiba grinned, "DUDE, THAT WAS AWESOME!"

Kirito chuckled, "I suppose so... But, I don't think that'll keep him down."

Chouji was about to ask what he meant when a huge wave of dark chakra surged from Sasuke's direction.

The Uchiha stepped out of the tree, revealing the cursed mark all over his body. Sasuke growled, "I... WILL... KILL... YOU!"

A Chidori started to form in his hands before a figure suddenly appeared behind him and knocked him out. Sakura said in surprise, "Kakashi-sensei?!"

Immediately, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Yugao appeared and the blonde woman asked, "What happened?"

Kakashi sighed, "It seems Sasuke's cursed mark activated, what happened just now?"

Kirito spoke, "We were sparring, Sasuke couldn't take the loss and lost control."

Tsunade sighed, "I see. That explains the sudden spike of chakra. Hikari, reseal the mark later, now, I want all of you to give me reports on what happened. Sasuke has been marked by Orochimaru, we can't have him going to that snake."

Sakura gasped, "Orochimaru?"

Jiraiya nodded, "That snake wants his Sharingan. He'll do anything to get them. That's why we need you to cooperate, any small detail about Sasuke's behavior, anything, it may help us free Sasuke of Orochimaru's grasp."

No one objected. They saw how Sasuke was just now, it wasn't normal, they needed to help him, even if the Uchiha was an ass.

Kakashi nodded, "I'll send him home and look after him. Besides, I need to talk to him about something."

Hikari immediately understood. It was one of the few things Kakashi told her when he taught her the Chidori and the Rasengan, to never use them at a level that can cripple the target in a spar with any comrades. No doubt Kakashi also told Sasuke about that.

Seeing no one objected, Kakashi slung the unconscious Uchiha over his shoulder and vanished via Shunshin.

After that, Tsunade spoke, "Okay then, follow me, since we have so many of you, you're gonna have to go provide your reports verbally to the IT Department."

Everyone nodded and went to the building where they gave their reports.

A while later, in Tsunade's office, the Hokage sighed as she rubbed her temples, "So basically, the Uchiha got jealous because Hikari is with Kirito and because the two of them are much stronger than him. Then he challenged Kirito to a fight because of that."

Jiraiya chuckled, "That sums it up, yep."

Tsunade sighed, "Fucking Uchiha. I swear, he's even worse than his dead relatives. At least they knew when they could act most of the time."

Jiraiya nodded, "I blame Danzo, Koharu and Homura. They've always been trying to get the Uchiha clan on their side."

Tsunade huffed, "More like kissing up their asses."

Jiraiya grinned, "Well, some of them _had_ fine asses."

Tsunade just sighed and facepalmed. Jiraiya then turned serious, "But, according to their reports, Sasuke's cursed mark is getting out of control."

Tsunade nodded, "Yeah, Hikari said she'll seal it later. I remember her saying something about letting Kirito do it though."

The toad sage chuckled, "Ah, so she's teaching the kid fuinjutsu. Like mother like daughter then."

Shizune blinked, "Oh yeah, it was Kushina-sama who taught Yondaime-sama fuinjutsu, right?"

Tsunade nodded, "Yeah, well, as long as they get the job done, I don't mind anyways."

Jiraiya nodded, "True, but Tsunade, increase the Anbu patrols around Sasuke. We can't take any chances, in case Orochimaru comes in."

The Hokage nodded, "I know, but to be frank, the Uchiha is more of a liability now, from what their reports told us, I'm tempted to just send that brat to Orochimaru."

Jiraiya huffed, "And give him the Sharingan on a silver platter?"

The blonde chuckled, "If I could, I would, but it seems sensei made a deal with our other rogue Uchiha."

Jiraiya nodded. He, along with Homura, Koharu and Danzo were the only ones Hiruzen told about the truth of the massacre of the Uchiha clan. It was also why Danzo didn't outright recruit Sasuke into his personal Ne Anbu.

Itachi had threatened to release all the secrets of Konoha to all four other shinobi villages if they did anything to Sasuke.

Jiraiya then asked, "So, what do we do Orochimaru eventually comes for him?"

Tsunade sighed, "As much as I hate to say it, do everything we can to keep him here in the village. But as of now, unless there are other interference, I won't send Jounin or Anbu."

Jiraiya nodded, "I see. Well, you know what you're doing anyways. So, about the Chunnin Exams that got interrupted a while back..."

Tsunade nodded, "I went through all the reports, and I suppose there _are_ a few of them who deserve a promotion."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, "Really now? Who are they?"

Tsunade gestured to the file on her desk, "That's the report on the invasion, more specifically, reports on the performances of several Gennin."

The man picked up the file and flipped through it before he chuckled, "Ah I see. Wow, if these reports are spot on, then we have a pretty promising group, since if I remember correctly, they are all from the previous batch of gennin."

Tsunade nodded, "I know they haven't been gennin for more than two years, but they can actually make it."

Jiraiya nodded, "You were always a better judge of character, plus _you_ are the Hokage now."

The woman nodded, "I'll call them over tomorrow. We still have to deal with Orochimaru and his fetish for boys."

Jiraiya bursted into laughter while Shizune tried hard but failed to not laugh. Tsunade just grinned as they continued their work.

Later, in the Uchiha compound, Sasuke groaned as he groggily opened his eyes. He looked up to see the familiar ceiling of his room.

He heard a familiar voice, Kakashi's voice coming from the right, "So, you're finally awake, Sasuke."

The Uchiha sat up and turned to see Kakashi, "Kakashi, what happened?"

The Hatake eye smiled, "To sum it up, you did something stupid and got your ass handed to you on a silver platter."

Sasuke glared at him before Kakashi's eye stared at him seriously, "What made you decide to use that mark? And you should know better than to use a Chidori on that level against a comrade."

Sasuke glared at him, the Uchiha wanted to tell his teacher that it didn't concern him. But regardless, Sasuke did respect Kakashi, if only a little.

The Uchiha huffed, "Comrades? That bastard stole Hikari from me. If he didn't existed..."

His cursed mark started to pulse, threatening to expand. Kakashi shook his head and stood up, staring at him sternly, "Let it go, Sasuke. Hikari was never yours to begin with, and she's not an object. She never looked at you that way."

Sasuke growled, "If Kirito never existed, then it'd be different!"

Kakashi nodded, "If, you said it yourself, if. But that's not the case here, life is never fair, you must learn to let things go."

The Uchiha replied, "She is the only one worthy of me."

Kakashi sighed as he thought, 'But you are not worthy of her.'

The man spoke, "Maybe, but, what have you done, to make her look at you that way. When you were all in the academy, while you were brooding, Kirito was out working his ass off as a blacksmith. I honestly don't care about your love life, but right now, if this continues, it will become a problem, and Tsunade-sama will have to solve this herself, and you _do not_ , want that."

Sasuke just stayed silent as Kakashi continued, "If you don't learn to let go, you will never truly become strong. Hatred will only make you weak."

The cyclops sighed and headed for the door, "I'll only tell you this once more, never. Never use the Chidori of that level against anyone who isn't your enemy."

Sasuke just sat at his bed silently gritting his teeth as his mentor left the compound. A while later, he got our of the bed and headed to the training fields, unaware of four figures following him.

Sasuke stood in front of a training dummy, his Sharingan spinning in anger. A Chidori ignited in his hand and he charged, slamming his arm into the dummy, shattering it to pieces.

But that wasn't enough for him. Sasuke thought back, he had failed to defeat Gaara, but Hikari did it. He had failed to even land a scratch on Orochimaru, but Kirito drove him away in the invasion, and Hikari had defeated him in a summons' battle on her mission to find Tsunade.

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he turned to another dummy and punched it hard, taking a chunk out of it.

He was about to continue when he heard a voice, "Ho, that was quite a good punch... For a pathetic tree hugger like you."

He turned to see four people standing behind him. One was a girl with red hair, the second was a man with grey hair and a creepy smirk. The third was a huge man while the last was a young man with six arms.

Sasuke immediately jumped away, 'How did they get there?! I didn't even sense them!'

The Uchiha also noticed their outfits were similar to Orochimaru. He asked warily, "Who are you guys?"

The girl smirked, "Tayuya."

The huge man smike, "My name is Jirobo."

The six armed man smirked arrogantly, "Kidomaru."

The grey haired man spoke, "I'm Sakon. You can say we are Orochimaru-sama's elite group of shinobi, and we're here to bring you to him."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, moving into a guarded stance, "Why would I want to go to him?"

Sakon laughed lightly, "Why? Tell me, can this village give you the power Orochimaru-sama can give you?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at them, "What can he give me?"

The other three stayed silent, they had decided Sakon would do the talking. If any of them spoke, they had doubt Sasuke woukd attack them.

Sakon grinned and pointed at the mark on Sasuke's neck, "You should know, that power. It's awesome, right?"

Sasuke's hand unconsciously went to cover the mark as Sakon continued, "Unfortunately, your's is still only in the first phase, that's why you always lose control. But, if you come with us, Orochimaru-sama will train you to master it. You will be stronger than ever!"

Sasuke spoke, "Prove it, I have no idea if what you're saying is true or not."

Sakon chuckled and nodded, "Very well."

The four of then activated their cursed marks, letting the marks cover their body. Sasuke's eyes widened at that, while the marks were slightly different, he knew they were the same.

Sakon spoke, "I suppose this is proof enough? So, what is your answer?"

Sasuke closed his eyes. At first, he would have refused. He knew Hikaru wanted to be Hokage, that would tie her to Konoha, and he wanted to stand beside her when she became Hokage. But Kakashi's words rang within him.

For the first time, Sasuke admitted within himself. Uzumaki Hikari was out of his reach, she would never be his. For the first time, Sasuke let go, and he made his decision.

The Uchiha opened his eyes, the expression of the young man changed, "Very well, when do we leave?"

Sakon's grin widened, "Meet us at the gates at 5.00pm."

Sasuke nodded before the Sound Four vanished without a trace. The Uchiha then continued to train.

Later at 5pm, Sasuke waited by the gates behind a tree, with a bag slung on his back. As he waited, he heard a familiar voice speak, "Sasuke-kun? Where are you going?"

The Uchiha turned to see Sakura. He cursed, of all the times, she had to bother him now. Sasuke vanished and reappeared in front of her. The girl didn't even have time to react before Sasuke slammed his fist into her stomach. The girl grunted in pain as she fell unconscious, "Sasuke-kun..."

The Uchiha sighed as he pulled her into the shadows of the tree. Now he thought back, Sakura always tried to stand by his side, even if she was too weak to do it.

Even if Sakura always bothered him, he guessed it was because she cared for him. But Sasuke always pushed her away in favor of Hikari and power.

Sasuke thought, 'Sorry, and thank you, Haruno Sakura.'

He stood up before he noticed the four elite shinobi of Orochimaru waiting for him, Tayuya having already placed the two guards in a genjutsu.

The Uchiha then walked out of the gates to the four, "Let's go."

The four smirked before they all leaped away, unaware of a crow with a Sharingan watching them.

XXX

Done. So yeah, review please.


	28. Chapter 28

Hey. So this is chapter 28. Enjoy.

XXX

In Tsunade's office, she was working away with her paper work. The woman sighed, 'Now I know why Jiraiya didn't take the hat... FUCK ALL THESE PAPER WORK!'

As the woman continued to curse the ones who made her be Hokage, the woman didn't notice the crow perched on her window. Only with a caw did she notice its presence.

The woman turned to see the crow and her mind could barely register the fact that it had a Sharingan when everything changed colours.

Tsunade heard a voice speak, "Senju Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage."

She turned to see Itachi standing there in his Akatsuki robes. The woman spoke, "Itachi. What are you doing here?"

The slayer of the Uchiha clan replied, "I'm here by using that crow, to cast a genjutsu. But that's not important. Just a few moments ago, four Oto shinobi came into the village and captured Sasuke."

Tsunade's eyes widened, "What? How?"

Itachi replied monotonously, "That is irrelevant. As of now, they are heading for Orochimaru's base, you know of the details of my agreement with the late Sandaime Hokage, yes?"

Tsunade sighed, "Fine. I'll send a team to retrieve him."

Itachi nodded, "Good. You should make haste, they have covered much ground already. They are probably headed to Otogakure."

The genjutsu dispelled and Tsunade found herself staring at an empty window frame. The woman sighed and spoke, "Anbu, bring Hikari to me now."

The woman felt a chakra signature vanish from one of the hiding spots of the Anbu who helped guard her. The Hokage sighed, she didn't even have the time to hand out the promotions to the Gennin.

After a moment, the Anbu returned with Hikari. The blonde asked, "Tsunade-baasan, what's wrong?"

The Hokage stared at her god-daughter, "A few moments ago, Uchiha Sasuke was taken by four Oto shinobi. As of now, I am officially promoting you to the rank of Chunnin. Gather a squad of four, anyone is okay, including yourself, and retrieve Uchiha Sasuke. They are headed for Otogakure, so you should head towards that direction."

Hikari nodded, "Got it, then I'll bring Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan."

Tsunade nodded, "Good, now go, we can't let the Sharingan fall into Orochimaru's hands."

The younger blonde nodded before she turned and left the office. Hikari didn't like Sasuke, she didn't hate him, but the girl was certainly annoyed. Even so, the girl wouldn't wish Sasuke getting captured by someone like Orochimaru, especially since it would mean having the Sharingan falling into Orochimaru's hands.

To be frank, Hikari didn't care if Konoha lost the Sharingan. True, it played a huge part when the Uchiha clan was alive, but now, it didn't make much of a difference. But when it came to Orochimaru, that was different.

The Snake Sannin was most probably an enemy to Konoha. If the Sharingan became Orochimaru's, well, an army of Sharingan users that could cast powerful genjutsu at a glance AND see things in slow motion along with memorizing everything with photographic memory, that was terrifying.

Hikari quickly reached her home. She entered to see the three girls and Kirito sitting there talking about random stuff.

The blonde spoke, "Girls, we have a mission, pack up ASAP. I'll tell you on the way."

The three girls nodded as they quickly went to get their equipment. Hikari just quickly grabbed an equipment scroll and waited by the door.

Kirito asked, a bit worried, "What's wrong, Hikari-chan?"

The blonde kunoichi sighed, "Sasuke got captured by some Oto shinobi. We're going to bring him back. We can't let him go to Orochimaru."

The blacksmith nodded, "I see. Well, good luck then."

Hikari nodded as the three other girls came down. The blonde nodded at her sisters, "Let's go."

The four girls said their goodbyes to the swordsman as they quickly left the compound. It was around 5.30pm, so they had to be quick.

As the four girls reached the gates, Sinon asked, "So, what's the mission?"

Hikari replied as they exited the gates, "Long story short, I got promoted to Chunnin, Sasuke got captured by some Oto shinobi, we're bringing him back so his Sharingan doesn't fall into Orochimaru's hands."

Suguha nodded, "I see."

Asuna sighed, "As much as I don't like him, I wouldn't want him to be captured by Orochimaru."

Hikari nodded, "Same here. That's why we have to hurry, if his Sharingan falls into the wrong hands, it'd be bad."

Sinon chuckled, "I don't think Sasuke was ever qualified to be considered the right hands."

The three other girls laughed at that. Suguha nodded, "Maybe, but Orochimaru is worse."

Sinon spoke as they readied to move, "Before we go, I'll summon a cat to track where their going."

The three girls nodded as Sinon summoned a brown cat. The cat looked at Sinon expectantly, "So, Sinon-san, what do you want?"

The girl spoke, "We're tracking an Uchiha, you remember their scent right, Rei?"

The cat nodded, "Of course, I can never forget their scent, those stupid copy cats."

The cat looked around before he nodded, "Got a trail, he smells of lightning too. He's also with four others, they reek of snakes."

Sinon grinned as she looked to the other three girls, also sharing the grins. The archer nodded to her summon, "Lead the way."

Rei nodded as they jumped up onto the trees, beginning their chase as they started to leaped through the trees.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the forest, Sakon spoke, "Alright, Sasuke, before we bring you to Orochimaru-sama, he wanted us to activate your second stage."

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow, "Activate it? How?"

Sakon took out a small bottle containing pills, "This. Once you take it, you will forcefully activate the second stage, but the cursed mark, as the name states, is cursed, so it will eat away your body in a few moments, if left unchecked."

Sasuke asked again, "Then, how will this help?"

Kidomaru smirked, "Fuinjutsu, we're not as good as Orochimaru-sama. But with all four of us, we can seal away that side effect, and you will feel nothing, so you will only be in a stasis condition."

Sasuke took the bottle and stared at it for a while. Tayuya frowned, "Stop being a pussy and just take the fucking pill!"

Jirobo frowned, "Tayuya, stop it. He has the right to be hesitant. He has no idea just how capable we are, he's been living in the safe, weak place that is Konohagakure after all."

Sasuke had enough, he didn't care if. Itachi or Orochimaru became strong while they were in Konoha. He was progressing at a slow pace, too slow, and he hated it. The Uchiha opened the bottle and took a pill.

Without any hesitance, he swallowed the pill. For a moment, he felt nothing. Sasuke asked, "I feel nothing, I thought it was gonna hurt?"

As soon as those words left his mouth, the pain came. Sasuke grapsed at his chest and the mark as he yelled in pain.

Sakon spoke urgently, "Hurry, if we make one mistake, he will drop dead."

Tayuya huffed as they leapt into action, "Shut it, you fucking son of a bitch!"

They surrounded Sasuke as Sakon pulled out a barrel. Jirobo hurriedly placed him into the barrel as they all went through handseals, "Shikoku Mujin!"

Black mist started to flow into the barrel, sealing Sasuke in it and also placing him in a stasis condition. Sakon then brought out four sealing tags and channeled chakra into them, "Fukoku Hoin!"

The tags tightened on the barrel, sealing it tight. Sakon sighed, "Okay, this should be fine. Let's take a break."

Sealing Sasuke took quite a bit out of them, so taking a break would be for the best. Besides, they weren't in a hurry to return to Otogakure. No one disagreed, so they sat down by the trees and took a break.

Meanwhile, some distance away, the group of four kunoichi were closing in. Rei stopped and Sinon asked, "What's wrong?"

The cat replied, "We're here. They're probably taking a rest. So we should be careful."

The girls nodded before Suguha spoke, "I'll summon a bird to see what they're doing."

They nodded as the katana user summoned a small bird. The bird nodded to Suguha as it flew straight up. Then their eyes glowed, linking Suguha's eyes to the bird.

This was one of the techniques the summons taught Suguha, to link their senses for recon missions, and it worked well.

Suguha spoke, "They're resting, I don't see Sasuke there. But there's a barrel in the middle, probably Sasuke's in there."

Hikari nodded, "What else?"

Suguha continued, "Like Rei said, there are four of them. One female, three other males. And if what I'm seeing is correct, they may be around Jounin level."

Hikari looked at Sinon, "What do you think we should do?"

Sinon pondered a while, "We ambush them. Hikari-chan, can you make paralysis seals to hold them there?"

Hikari nodded, "Of course, so, we use paralysis seals to seal them?"

Sinon nodded, "And we take Sasuke back."

Suguha spoke, "Hikari-chan, I'll have each of us carry a small eagle. Once we're all done, send the eagles up."

The three girls nodded as they quickly went to work, with Hikari quickly making the seals while Asuna, Suguha and Sinon took their positions to set them. They couldn't use Hikari's clones since the usage of chakra would alert them of their presence. But summoning a small eagle required really less chakra, so that was fine.

With the Sound Four, Sakon spoke, "Guys, we're moving in 15 minutes."

The other three nodded begrudgingly before a strange sight caught his attention. Above them were four birds, circling in the sky.

The two headed ninja spoke, "Hey, do eagles circle around each other in the sky?"

The three other Sound ninja looked up before their eyes widened as they felt a small pulse of chakra. Then all of a sudden, they couldn't move a single muscle. Sakon cursed, "Fuinjutsu..."

Jirobo grunted as he struggled to move, to no avail. The other two also tried to move, but couldn't.

Then they heard Suguha speak, "Nice job, Hikari-chan."

The four girls came out of the bushes and stared at the four Sound shinobi. Kidomaru growled, "So it was the four of you."

Hikari nodded, "Sorry, but we'll be taking Sasuke back."

Tayuya glared at her, "Fuck you."

Hikari glanced at the barrel as Suguha and Sinon stood beside them, looking out for potential enemies, "He's in the barrel, isn't he? Using such abominations as makeshift seals. Orochimaru taught you them, right?"

Sakon didn't reply as Hikari started to bring out her sealing equipment. Asuna drew her rapier and looked at the four, "Sorry, but this is the end."

Sakon chuckled, "The end? Not really, this is just the beginning."

All of a sudden, all four of their cursed marks activated, sending a pulse of chakra that broke the paralysis seals.

Without warning, the four of them shot forward, knocking Hikari and Asuna to the ground as Sakon grabbed the barrel and leaped into the trees with his teammates.

Hikari cursed, "Dammit!"

The four girls quickly recovered and leaped into the trees, chasing after them.

As the girls gave chase, Jirobo spoke, "Guys, I'll hold them back. You three get the Uchiha back."

Tayuya frowned, "You trying to play hero, fatass?"

Jirobo ignored the insult, "No, at the speed they're coming at, it won't be long before they catch up to us. Sending the boy to Orochimaru-sama is more important."

The man then grinned darkly, "Besides, its been a while since I let loose."

Sakon nodded, "Fine. But don't take too long."

Jirobo nodded and stopped on a branch as his team continued forward. The man turned to see the four girls coming.

With Hikari and her team, they all noticed the huge man waiting for them. Suguha spoke, "You three go ahead, I'll deal with him."

Sinon nodded, "We can't afford to waste time, so having one of us deal with him is better."

Hikari nodded, "Good luck, Suguha-chan."

But Jirobo wasn't just going to let the other three pass so easily. The man pushed his palms into a handseal and roared, sending a wall of mud at them.

Suguha rushed forward and channeled wind chakra into her katana, sending a blast of wind that dispersed the mud.

The swordswoman jumped over the man and landed in front of Jirobo, blocking him from going after Hikari, Asuna and Sinon.

Suguha brandished her Tempest and spoke coldly, "Your opponent is me."

Jirobo knew he wouldn't be able to stop all of them. But at least he could deal with this girl and the others later. The man nodded as he took a stance while Suguha pointed her katana at him.

Then they charged. Jirobo channeled chakra into his arms, enforcing them as he swung his fists at the smaller girl. Suguha responded by swinging her katana at the man.

The blade clashed against the fist, pushing against each other. Jirobo was surprised by the amount of force behind Suguha's attack and he was glad to have enforced his arm, otherwise he would have lost it.

The girl was also surprised that Jirobo's arm remained intact. She had expected the arm to be blown away, or at least wound him. But apparently the man wasn't one of Orochimaru's ninja for nothing.

Suguha leaped away to dodge a swipe from Jirobo's other arm. The man spoke arrogantly, "So, what will you do? Your sword can't cut me."

Suguha narrowed her eyes at him, "There is nothing I cannot cut."

(Note: The way she is saying it is 'Watashi ni wa kirenai mono wa nai')

Jirobo smirked, "Oh, then shall we put that claim to test?"

The man raised his fists. The girl responded by charging again, this time channeling wind chakra into her sword, making it glow a light green.

Jirobo saw the glow and decided to add more chakra into his arms just in case. The arm and the sword clashed. This time, Suguha's sword managed to land a deep gash on his arm, making the man grunt in pain as he leaped away to dodge a slash that would have left him without his head.

Jirobo narrowed his eyes at the girl, 'This girl, she's not some ordinary kunoichi. Her movements are precise, not one move wasted. If I didn't reinforce my body, I would be dead. I can't take her lightly.'

The man spoke, "Let's see how you deal with this! Doton Kekai: Doro Domu!"

Jirobo slammed his palms on the ground, quickly forming a huge dome around Suguha before she could dodge it.

The girl looked around. There was barely any light for her to see. Then she felt her chakra leave her body, a familiar feeling whenever Hikari used her chakra chains in their spars.

Suguha cursed, 'He's absorbing my chakra... I need to end this fast.'

She then heard Jirobo's voice coming from the outside, right in front of her, "How's that, girl? You can feel your chakra leaving you, right? If you don't do anything, you will die like the piece of shit you are."

Suguha growled at that insult, the man was too arrogant, the type of men she hated. Raising her sword and channelling wind chakra into it, she swung her blade at the walls.

The slash managed to form a solid gash on the wall, but before Suguha could make another, the wall quickly reformed.

She heard Jirobo's voice again, "You can't break the wall, no one can. It is indestructible!"

Suguha just tch'd as she looked around, well, she saw nothing, but at least she knew where Jirobo was. The girl thought a while, 'The dome can rebuild itself, so the only way I can get out is the deal more damage than it can rebuild, I wish I knew Hikari-chan's Rasengan... Ah whatever, I'll just improvise.'

The girl closed her eyes and extended her senses. She could feel the chakra around her, and she focused in on the dome. The girl needed to find the weakest point of the dome and force her way through.

After a while, Suguha pin-pointed on the location where the dome was the weakest, the exact opposite of where she previously struck.

Suguha slowly walked towards that direction before she stabbed a kunai into the wall, sure enough the kunai went in quite deep.

Suguha nodded to herself before she charged her blade with lightning chakra. The girl wasn't as good as Hikari when it came to lightning manipulation, but it was decent enough.

The girl sent a series of slashes at the wall before it crumbled to pieces, surprising Jirobo as Suguha leaped out of the dome.

The man narrowed his eyes, "How did you break my walls?"

Suguha didn't reply. Instead, she charged forward and swung her blade at the man. Jirobo barely avoided the attacks before he leaped away.

The man charged again and threw his fists at the girl, but all of his attacks missed as Suguha was too small and too fast.

Jirobo grunted as Suguha landed several small gashes on his arms and legs. It was only due to his body enhancement technique that the girl's blade did not slice his limbs off cleanly.

Jirobo cursed, if this kept on going, it would be a matter of time before Suguha wore him down and killed him. He needed to end it quickly.

The man slammed his fists on the ground, causing a huge a huge crater. Suguha quickly leaped away, so she wasn't caught in it.

But Jirobo wasn't aiming to hurt her with that, no, he was just trying to put some distance between them. The man focused on his mark, allowing it to expand over his body.

The man stared at the girl, "I will end this now, you have no chance at winning."

Suguha stared at the cursed mark user. The girl spoke, "A power up, I see. But, you're not the only one with something like that."

Normally Jirobo would have charged forward and end his opponents swiftly, but before even registered her words, nature chakra flowed into Suguha's body.

The girl's hair turned to a light blonde colour and grew to waist length. Suguha quickly tied up her hair with a band as her eyes turned to a light green.

Jirobo was shocked at the transformation. He had believed, no, he knew that he and his team, now along with Sasuke, were the elite, and that the cursed mark was their trump card, their ace in a hole against their enemies.

But what Jirobo didn't know, is the very thing Orochimaru based the cursed mark on, was the sage mode. In fact, the cursed mark, even in stage 2, paled in comparison to an incomplete sage mode.

Jirobo was about to experience that. The man, despite being arrogant, knew that Suguha was far stronger than he was now, the power she exerted was proof of it.

Suguha stared at him as she raised her sword. Jirobo growled and charged, raising his arm before he swung it downwards.

Then the next thing that happened shocked him, instead of parrying with her katana or dodging the attack, Suguha just raised her left open palm, and stopped the attack.

Jirobo gaped at how the girl stopped one of his punches, which could have shattered boulders easily. The man quickly pulled away and landed several feet away from the girl.

The man threw away any hesitation for using the second stage, but unfortunately, Suguha wasn't about to let him start the process to activate the second stage.

As soon as Jirobo landed, Suguha vanished in a burst on speed, and in an instant, Jirobo felt his arm burst with pain as Suguha sliced his arm off cleanly.

But the girl wasn't done, not giving Jirobo time to even scream, Suguha turned and swung her sword. In one flawless stroke, the huge man's head fell to the ground.

Suguha let out a breath as her sage mode deactivated, taking off her hair band as her returned to normal. The girl quickly leaped onto the trees as she chased after the others.

Meanwhile back in Konoha, Kirito was in his shop, forging another sword. Klein was outside at the cashier, the blacksmith found having the man around very useful, it gave Kirito a lot more time for himself and forging weapons.

As he hammered the piece of metal, Kirito felt a presence behind him, a presence he hated. The young man spun and swung his hammer, to hit the flat of the Kusanagi.

Kirito growled as he pushed against the sword, "Orochimaru, why are you here?!"

The snake sannin smirked evilly, "I came to see you, yet you try to take my head off. I feel so hurt."

Kirito growled, his eyes flickering to yellow, as he grabbed one of the swords lying around and swung it at the snake.

But Orochimaru wasn't a snake summoner for no reason. As soon as the blade touched his neck, Orochimaru melted into mud, reappearing several feet away.

The sannin chuckled, "Don't be so cold, Kirito. I just wanted to tell you something."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, pointing the blade at the traitor of Konoha, "I don't need to listen to anything you say."

Orochimaru's grin widened, "Even if it concerns your little Jinchurikii? You do know, I sent four of my ninja to retrieve Sasuke-kun, your four precious girls are on a mission to bring him back to Konoha, ya know that, right?"

Kirito glared at the man, "If you do anything to any of them..."

The swordsman's eyes glowed yellow for a while, and Orochimaru found himself unable to breathe for that short amount of time. But it ended as soon as it came.

The sannin smirked, "That depends, you see, I am but a mere clone. The original is still in Otogakure, or at least he should be. I believe giving the girl to the Akatsuki would keep them off my back, don't you think so?"

Kirito growled and swung his blade at the smirking man, but his sword clashed against the clone's Kusanagi.

The clone of Orochimaru spoke, "As of now, they should be headed for the Valley of the End, see if you can reach there in time, Kirito."

Orochimaru cackled as he blocked another slash from Kirito, "And don't tell Tsunade, it would be bad for me if she found out, and it would be bad for you if the Jinchurikii was captured by the Akatsuki, right?"

The clone melted into mud as Orochimaru's laughter faded into the wind.

Kirito growled before he quickly grabbed his swords and put on his coat as he rushed out of the shop.

Klein asked," Oi Kiri-no-ji! Where you goin? "

The swordsman shouted back as he ran out of the shop, "I have an emergency! Look after the shop for a bit!"

Klein didn't have time to reply as Kirito was already gone.

As Kirito flew out of the village, no one noticed the crow perched on the walls of Konoha watching the disappearing red and black figure of Kirito, a Sharingan in its eye.

The crow then flew away, following the young blacksmith.

XXX

Done. Review please. So in the next few chapters, or after the next few chapters, I will be closing the poll for whether Kirito gets UBW. So go vote please.


	29. Chapter 29

Hey. So **Guest** , you don't know what UBW is?! Its Unlimited Blade Works... Google it up.

To **Guest-questioner,** if you remember in the Chunnin Exams, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon's respective sage modes are their ALO forms.

And yes, everything before the events of this story is mostly the same. The history of the Elemental Nations are the same, except that at some point before the Third Ninja War, there was contact between the Elemental Nations and the Underworld. But I'm just gonna leave that for now.

On a side note, turns out SAO S3 is split into 4 subseasons, with 13 eps per subseason on average. Which means around 50 episodes for sao season 3... IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER, SO WHO'S HYPED FOR THAT?!

XXX

In the forest, after Suguha stayed back to fight Jirobo, the other three continued chasing after the remaining Sound 4.

As they closed in, Sakon cursed, "Shit, so they left one behind to deal with Jirobo."

The man looked at the barrel he was carrying, "Sasuke still needs some time before the mark finishes the process."

Kidomaru nodded, "They'll catch up soon, I'll stay back and hold them off, probably just one of them though."

Tayuya huffed, "What? Can't handle a bunch of weaklings?"

Sakon shook his head, "No, he's right. Jirobo is easily the physically strongest one of us four, but three of them still caught up. It'll probably be the best for us to split them up and kill them. It'll also allow Sasuke to wake up."

Kidomaru nodded, "Then, I'll stay back this time."

Sakon and Tayuya nodded as they continued forward. Kidomaru landed on a branch before he hid in a tree, 'Now, let's see if I can pick them off one by one.'

Back in Konoha, in Tsunade's office, the woman sighed as she worked away with her paper work. Tsunade thought, 'Why do I have a bad feeling?'

Ever since the Hokage sent her goddaughter to gather a team to retrieve Sasuke, the Sannin couldn't help but feel that something will go wrong, after all it was Orochimaru they were dealing with.

The woman sighed before she summoned a messenger hawk and quickly wrote a message and sent it towards Sunagakure, completely unaware of the red and black blur in the sky that shot off from the village gates, and the small crow that followed after him.

Back with Hikari, Asuna and Sinon, the three girls were chasing after the Sound ninja. Then as they hopped past another branch, Sinon spotted an arrow heading straight for her.

The brunette drew her bow and smacked the arrow away before shooting her own arrow at the direction, revealing Kidomaru holding his bow, staring down at them as they leaped through the trees.

Sinon spoke, "Hikari-chan, Asuna-chan, you two go on ahead. I'll deal with him."

Kidomaru just stared at the brown haired girl as the two other girls left. Sinon asked, "Hey, are you sure you don't wanna stop them?"

Kidomaru smirked arrogantly, "No, Sakon and Tayuya can easily handle them. But are you sure you don't need help?"

Sinon grinned, "Not really, besides, its not everyday I can face a fellow archer."

Kidomaru laughed, "True, but tree huggers like you, CAN NEVER BEAT THIS KIDOMARU-SAMA!"

The six armed man fired three arrows as Sinon leaped up, flipping over as she shot two arrows at Kidomaru.

Kidomaru jumped away to dodge the arrows. Then as soon as the two of them landed on a branch each, they nocked an arrow and shot it at each other.

The two arrows barely brushed by each other before they sped towards their respective targets. Sinon rolled to the side to dodge the arrow, while Kidomaru tilted his body to avoid the arrow.

But unfortunately for the man, due to his six arms, the arrow pierced one of his left arm. Kidomaru just growled as he quickly pulled the arrow out and jumped up to dodge another arrow from Sinon.

The man landed and quickly shot an arrow at the girl, forcing her to leap away before she could fire another arrow.

Kidomaru thought, 'I hate to admit it, but she's good. If her teammates are as good as she is, then I think the others will probably have a hard time. Time to take it to the next stage then.'

The man dodged an arrow and hid behind a tree. Kidomaru decided in not taking any chances and went straight into stage two.

But as soon as he did, the six armed man's heightened senses went full alert, and he jumped up just to avoid an arrow piercing through the tree, where his heart was just moments ago.

He caught a glimpse of the arrow and noticed it had a green glow at the tip and thought, 'Fucking wind chakra enhanced arrows, great.'

The man landed on another branch to plan his next move.

Meanwhile, with Sinon, the girl had sensed the burst of foul chakra. That was how she knew where Kidomaru was, it was incredibly similar to Sasuke's cursed mark, so it meant the man had something similar.

The female archer thought, 'Maybe I should use sage mode.'

The girl jumped away to dodge three arrows that embedded themselves into the ground before Sinon hid behind a tree, quickly focusing as she gathered nature chakra into her body.

Her hair turned light blue as two light blue cat ears sprouted out of her head. Her eyes turned to the same shade of her hair as the girl entered her sage mode.

Sinon used her enhanced senses and easily located Kidomaru and shot a lightning chakra enhanced arrow at his direction.

Unlike the wind enhanced arrow, the lightning enhanced arrow was faster and had higher piercing power.

Kidomaru sensed it coming and leaped out into the opening, but the arrow was too fast and pierced through his hurt arm.

The man grunted in pain and leaped out into the opening, ignoring the pain of losing his middle right arm and aimed an arrow at the cat girl, who did the same.

Both of them stopped moving as they waited, watching for any openings. Kidomaru let his arrow loose and jumped up, and Sinon shot her arrow slightly upwards before she jumped away to dodge his arrow.

Kidomaru gritted his fangs as he swatted the arrow away with his bow. With Sinon's arrows, he couldn't use his normal tactics in setting up a web and snipe his enemies off.

Kidomaru thought, 'Fuck it, I'll summon Kyodaigumo.'

He landed on one of the trees and flashed through handseals before he slammed his palm onto the tree, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Cloud surrounded the area, and Sinon was surprised to see Kidomaru standing on top, or rather, under a giant tarantula, upside down, with a huge spider web on the trees above her.

Sinon thought, 'Spiders... Come to think of it, his six arms do make him look like a man spider...'

Kidomaru smirked down at her, "What do you think? Do you think you can win now?"

Sinon smirked and bit her thumb, "You think you're the only one with summons?"

Kidomaru's eyes widened as Sinon went through a set of seals and slammed her palm onto the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

In a cloud of smoke, a huge white cat the size of a rhino appeared. The cat nodded at Sinon, quickly noticing the giant spider and the demonic archer above them, "So, they are the enemy?"

Sinon nodded, "Yes, Shirone-san, please lend me your strength."

The cat grinned, "Of course."

Kidomaru tch'd before he nocked three arrows, enhancing them with his golden webbings, "DIE!"

The man spider released the arrows, the projectiles flying at Sinon at speeds that would require a doujutsu to track. Fortunately, Sinon didn't need to.

In an instant, Shirone was in front of her, the three arrows on the ground. The white cat wasn't the strongest of the cat summons, but she prided herself in being one of the faster and stronger cats among her tribe.

Kidomaru was surprised. The arrows he shot, were calibrated to have the fastest speed and aim he could manage, and the cat had stopped them easily.

But Sinon wasn't about to just let him stay surprised unharmed, unsurprisingly. The girl had already nocked five arrows on her bow, and she channeled chakra into them, activating a technique she had been practicing for quite a while.

The technique was based on the kunai homing technique, which wasn't used that much in the real world due to its flaws of needing time to lock onto its target and because it relied on the users' ability to keep track of the target's chakra. The original technique also wasn't practical, as even though it was called a homing technique, it just made the projectile sway slightly to follow the target.

But Sinon had fixed that. To do this, she had increased her chakra control and chakra sensory skills to the best she could, which, with the help of her cat summons, wasn't too hard. Then, fortunately, Kirito had also ordered custom made arrows with tips made of chakra metal from Tetsu no Kuni, Sinon could infuse precise amount of chakra for the technique, which allowed her to home in onto her targets easily.

The girl released her arrows, and Kidomaru willed the Kyodaigumo to jump away, spitting another set of webs on several trees some distance away.

But to the man's surprise, the arrows that were supposed to miss him, and hit the trees, suddenly turned towards him. Kidomaru jumped up from the Kyodaigumo, which was in midair, to dodge the incoming arrows.

But again, the arrows turned and chased after him. Kidomaru yelped and spat out a string of webbing and swung himself away, but the arrows just continued following hin.

As the man tried to, but was failing to, outrun the arrows, Sinon and Shirone acted. The girl in sage mode repeatedly shot arrows at the Kyodaigumo while the cat pounced.

The spider could barely block the arrows before Shirone landed on its back and sinked her claws into the spider's eyes. The spider roared in pain and flailed around wildly in an attempt to attack the cat.

But Shirone wasn't a cat for no reason. The cat easily jumped away and landed beside Sinon. She nodded to Sinon as the archer jumped onto the cat and nocked an arrow, charging all the chakra she could without having the arrow break.

Shirone opened her mouth and gathered chakra in it, forming a sphere of condensed chakra. Then the two fired their attacks at the now blinded spider.

The Kyodaigumo never saw the attack coming as it ripped the spider to shreds, killing it before it returned to its realm.

Kidomaru saw this, and yelled in anger. But that provided the distraction the arrows needed to pierce the man in the arms, more specifically the joints, rendering the remaining five of his arms useless.

The man screamed in pain as he dropped to the floor. He painfully flipped over and stood up before he tried to escape. Unfortunately for Kidomaru, Sinon and Shirone had already spotted him before he could even make it past a meter.

With his main weapon, summon and arms useless, Kidomaru knew he was screwed. His taijutsu was fine, but with Sinon's arrows and the huge cat, he doubt, even in his stage two form, he could take on a Sage mode Sinon and the cat.

However, Sinon and Shirone weren't giving him the chance to check if his theory was wrong. Immediately, Sinon nocked at arrow and shot through his head, killing the man instantly as Kidomaru dropped to the ground dead.

Sinon let out a breath as she stared at the lifeless face of her fellow archer, "Well, that's done."

The girl let all the nature chakra leave her body, reverting her hair to the normal shade of dark brown as her cat ears shrunk to nothing.

Shirone nodded, "So, do you still need me?"

Sinon shook her head, "No, thanks for the help, Shirone-san."

The cat nodded before she returned to her realm. The girl sighed before she thought, 'Should I wait for Suguha-chan? Or should I go on ahead and chase after Asuna-chan and Hikari-chan?'

The girl stood there for a while before she decided to wait, just in case Jirobo won, which she really doubted would happen.

Meanwhile, with the remaining Sound ninja who were carrying Sasuke's barrel, Sakon cursed, "Dammit, they'll catch up soon."

Tayuya tch'd, "Fuck this. Sakon, you can at least handle one of them, right? I'll hold back another one, you bring the Uchiha as far as you can and kill off whichever bitch you get."

Sakon nodded, "Very well, Sasuke should wake up soon though, so we just have to hold them off until then."

Tayuya nodded as she split off from their original path, preparing to face whichever of the two girls.

Back with Hikari and Asuna, the auburn haired girl spoke, "Hikari-chan, I think they'll probably split off and have one to fight us. I'll stay back, so you go on ahead to get Sasuke."

The Uzumaki sighed, "Fine."

Asuna nodded, "I'll meet up with you after I'm done."

Hikari nodded before they spotted Tayuya in a distance. Asuna landed in front of the dark pink haired girl as Hikari dashed past the Sound ninja.

Asuna asked, "You're not gonna stop her?"

Tayuya smirked, "Hmph, that shithead Sakon is more than enough for that little bitch, just as I am more than enough for you."

Asuna nodded and drew her rapier. Tayuya's smirked vanished as she went into a taijutsu stance.

Then they both charged. Asuna thrust her Lambant Light forward, aiming for Tayuya's chest. But the Oto kunoichi swiftly leaned to a side, dodging the attack as she spun and sent a kick at the auburn haired girl.

If Asuna was the girl a year ago, the momentum of her thrust would have left her vulnerable to the kick, but that wasn't the case now. Using her momentum as she fell forward, the girl pushed her left arm onto the ground and flipped over as she spun her legs, not only dodging Tayuya's kick but also kicking the dark pink haired girl away into a tree.

Tayuya growled as she quickly got up, "You fucking bitch."

Asuna didn't reply as she regained her footing before charging forward again. This time instead of just charging straight in, Asuna jumped up and spun, coming down with a thrust with her rapier.

Tayuya cursed as she tried to dodge again, but she wasn't fast enough and the blade pierced through her right shoulder. The girl growled in pain before Asuna pulled the blade out and kicked her off the tree onto the ground.

Tayuya cursed as she painfully got up and dodged a kick from Asuna. The Oto kunoichi thought, 'Fuck this, this bitch is strong. I can't hold back anymore.'

The girl reached behind to her waist and pulled out a flute as Asuna charged Tayuya, thrusting her sword forward.

Tayuya quickly leaned to a side and used her flute to block the attack, "To make me bring my flute out, you're a sick bitch, aren't you?"

Asuna didn't reply as she pulled away and spun, sending another kick at Tayuya. The Oto kunoichi ducked to dodge the attack before she used her flute to smack Asuna, sending her stumbling several steps away.

Tayuya tried to push on with her attacks, charging and swinging her flute at Asuna. However, Asuna was fast to recover and blocked the attack, kicking the flutist away.

Asuna frowned and glared at the pink haired kunoichi. Tayuya let out a breath and thought, 'At this rate, we won't get anywhere. My stamina isn't that good too, I don't think I can last longer than she can.'

Tayuya thought, 'Genjutsu is probably pointless, if what I sense about the bitch is right, then I'll just be wasting chakra. I guess I can only rely on my Doki.'

The girl flashed through handseals and slammed her palm on the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

In an instant, three huge figures appeared, and Asuna stared in surprised at the humanoid creatures.

Tayuya smirked, "These are my personal summons, the Doki."

The Oto kunoichi pulled her flute to her lips, then she started to play. In an instant, Asuna, who was on the tree, found all three Doki summons surrounding her.

The rapier user cursed as Tayuya willed the three summons to charged. Asuna leaped away and barely avoided the attacks which shattered the tree she was standing on.

As soon as Asuna landed on another branch, she continued to leap away as she sheathed her sword and bit her thumb before going through a set of handseals.

Asuna then landed on a branch and slammed her palm on the branch, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

In a huge cloud of smoke, a huge jaw came out and bit one of Tayuya's three Doki and flung it away into a tree.

Tayuya gaped in shock as the cloud dispersed to reveal a huge killer whale, easily twice the size of her Doki, floating in the air.

Asuna greeted the whale, "Trident-san."

The orca nodded to his summoner, "Hikari, its been a while. So, these are our enemies?"

Asuna nodded, "Yes, please lend me your power."

Trident nodded, "Of course."

Tayuya tch'd and played another tune, commanding the three Doki to charged the floating whale. Trident immediately reacted and dodged the attacks before he opened his jaw, biting one of the Doki and began to swing it around and around, slamming into the other two demonic summons before he sent the Doki at Tayuya.

The pink haired girl cursed and leaped up, dodging her summon. But before she could land, Asuna appeared in front of her, rapier poised to strike.

Tayuya cursed as the auburn haired girl stabbed her rapier into Tayuya's shoulder again, causing the the dark pink haired girl to grit her teeth in pain.

As they fell, Tayuya painfully kicked Asuna away as she crashed onto the ground. The Oto kunoichi cursed, her supposed advantage of using her Doki was useless with Asuna's orca summon.

Tayuya thought, 'Fucking piece of shit, I have to use my cursed mark.'

The Oto kunoichi quickly got up and activated her cursed mark, forcing it to go all the way to the second stage in the shortest time she could manage.

Asuna watched in surprise as her enemy grew horns, her skin turning dark brown as Tayuya exerted a very dark chakra. The other thing Asuna noticed was that the chakra Tayuya let out felt both like Orochimaru and nature chakra.

That alone told the girl that Tayuya was using something that wasn't to be trifled with. The auburn haired girl decided not to take any chances and quickly channeled nature chakra into her body.

Her hair then turned to a light shade of blue, the same with her eyes, the aura around her also changed, letting out a feeling of serenity. Trident watched with pride as his summoner activated the sage mode he and his brethen helped her to learn.

The Doki around them also seemed to sense Asuna's power and seemed to whimper silently, obviously afraid of her strength.

Tayuya was also shocked. Moments ago, Tayuya and Asuna were almost equal. But now, Tayuya felt like she was a lake compared to the vast ocean.

Tayuya took a breath and quickly played her flute, commanding her three Doki to charge at Asuna.

The now blue haired girl nodded at her summon. Trident complied and quickly charged the three Doki, shooting a thin immensely pressurized jet of water at them.

The results were instant, as the three Doki were cut in half by the water jet. Tayuya could barely repress her shock as her prized summons were all killed instantly by the orca.

But Asuna wasn't going to let the Oto kunoichi grieve for her summons, quickly charging, Asuna thrust her rapier at Tayuya.

The cursed mark user cursed and used her flute to block the attack. Unfortunately for her, Asuna didn't just attack normally, instead, the girl had chanelled wind chakra into her blade, increasing its sharpness.

The blade easily sliced through the flute, breaking it in half as it charged straight for Tayuya's heart. Only due to Tayuya's instincts, did she manage to avoid a fatal blow, the sword piercing her other shoulder.

The only kunoichi of the Sound Four gritted in pain as she tried to stab the sharp end of her broken flute into Asuna's eyes. But the blue haired sage saw the attack coming from a mile. Asuna tilted her head, allowing the broken flute to pass by her head before she drew a kunai and stabbed it into Tayuya's chest.

The dark skinned girl's eyes widened in shock as Asuna quickly pulled back and spun, slicing her head off with the edge of her rapier.

The blue haired girl let out a breath as the Oto kunoichi fell to the ground, dead and headless. Asuna turned to Trident was watching with approval in his eyes.

The orca spoke, "Well done, Asuna. So, is there anything else?"

The girl shook her head, "No, thanks for the help, Trident."

Trident chuckled, "Of course, but given time, you would have dispatched of them anyways."

Asuna smiled softly, "Maybe, but we're kinda in a rush."

The whale nodded, "I see, then I wish you luck in your mission, Asuna."

The whale vanished in a puff of smoke and Asuna released her sage mode as she turned to chase after Hikari. But before she could, she heard Suguha's voice, "Asuna-chan!"

The girl turned to see Suguha and Sinon landing in front of her. Asuna spoke, "You girls done?"

Sinon nodded, "Yeah, you too. Where's Hikari-chan and Sasuke?"

Asuna turned to where they were headed, "Probably that direction. I can sense Hikari-chan's chakra in that direction."

Suguha nodded, "Then we need to hurry. I mean they may have reinforcements."

Asuna and Sinon both nodded before they quickly continued the chase.

Meanwhile, Kirito was flying through the forest, passing by the area where Suguha had killed Jirobo. The blacksmith thought, 'That's one the bastards who put up that barrier, the girls must have killed him. I need to hurry, I can't let Orochimaru get them!'

The flying teen didn't stop anx continued flying. In another location, Itachi sighed as he watched Kirito through the crow, 'He's letting his emotions get the better of him, I have to make sure his powers don't awaken yet, its too early for that.'

XXX

Done. So that's it for this chapter. The next chapter will be Hikari vs Sakon/Ukon. By the way, since they are all around 16 to 17 now, I'm thinking of making the time skip for the training to be only one year. Then I'll start the Shippuden/SAO arcs.

What do you guys think? Review please.


	30. Chapter 30

Hey. This is chapter 30. Sorry for the slight late update, my finals are coming, so I'm a bit busy these days, where even if I turn on my laptop, its mostly for studies etc.

Anyways, here it is.

XXX

With Hikari, she was closing in after Sakon. The girl had the advantage since she didn't need to carry a huge barrel, so it was only a matter of time before Hikari reached him.

Sakon also knew it, but he only needed to stall for time. But Hikari wasn't going to let him. As soon as he entered her range, Hikari shot out a dozen chains from her palms, wrapping them around Sakon and the barrel.

Then the girl swung hard towards the ground, sending both the Oto shinobi and the barrel crashing into the ground. Miraculously, the barrel remained intact, probably due to the seals. Sakon however, wasn't that lucky.

The man was in pain all over from the impact and painfully stood up, glaring at the girl as he did. Sakon immediately charged, drawing a kunai.

The man closed the distance between them quite easily, but the same couldn't be said for his attacks. Every slash Sakon sent at Hikari didn't touch her, and after several slashes, Hikari conjured several chains and flung them at the man, sending him crashing into a tree, bringing up a cloud of dust.

Hikari wasted no time and sent another wave of chains at the Oto shinobi. But this time, to her surprise, something caught her chains.

The dust soon cleared to reveal Sakon with four arms and two heads, with said four arms grabbing the chakra chains.

Sakon growled, "Don't think this is gonna beat us, you damn bitch."

The second head, Ukon, growled in agreement, "Yeah, we're gonna butcher that pretty face of yours."

Hikari just stared in surprise at the two headed man, but then again, she had a huge fox in her gut and she had a boyfriend who could grow wings, so maybe that wasn't the strangest thing that happened.

In her seal, the Kyuubi chuckled, "So they have two heads, in one body, well, not so different from us, right?"

Hikari smiled, 'Maybe, so, how many tails should I use?'

The Kyuubi pondered for a while before he answered, "Half a tail should be more than enough."

Hikari nodded as she let the bijuu's chakra flowed through her body. Her eyes became red and slitted, her whisker marks became darker and her nails sharpened into claws.

Hikari stared at the two brothers coldly before she vanished. In an instant, the Jinchurikii appeared in front of the two brothers of one body, and she swung her claws at them.

It was only due to their instincts did Sakon and Ukon pushed their back against the tree they were previously in, just in time to dodge the potentially fatal strike.

The Oto shinobi took advantage of Hikari's failed attack and tried to punch her in the face. But the girl saw it coming and quickly regained her footing, grabbing Sakon and Ukon's wrists with both her hands.

Then she pulled hard, swinging Sakon and Ukon flying away. As soon as the two brothers landed, Hikari charged, but she was pushed back slightly by a wave of foul chakra.

Hikari stopped charging immediately, wary of the wave of chakra. The girl knew it was a cursed mark, Hikari also noticed that the chakra was considerably tame compared to Sasuke's mark, but nonetheless, she decided it was safer to wait first.

The dust cleared and Hikari was slightly shocked to see the demonic appearance that Sakon and Ukon had taken. The two brothers' faces had completely changed, taking the form of demons, each of them with a horn on their forehead. Their skin also turned red, making their form look more demonic.

Sakon spoke, "Now, let's see how you do against us now?"

Ukon just laughed as the two brothers in one body charged the girl. Hikari narrowed her eyes as she jumped back to dodge a swipe from the brothers. The girl landed and quickly swung her right arm, extending several chains from her arm and chakra arm as she did.

The combination of the Kyuubi's chakra arm and Hikari's chakra chains struck Sakon and Ukon straight in the chest, sending flying again.

But the Uzumaki wasn't just gonna let them crash into a tree again, immediately, Hikari raised her right leg and stomped on the ground hard, causing five chakra chains in a chakra arm to shoot up from below where Sakon and Ukon flew past.

The chakra arm and chakra chains quickly wrapped around the two brothers, more specifically their legs, before it started to fling them around, hitting the ground several times. After stopping for a while, the arm started again before it threw them into a boulder that was so conveniently nearby.

(Just to give you guys a better image, its exactly how the Hulk flung Loki around in the first Avengers movie in Starks' Tower and how the Hulk flung Thor around in the arena in Thor Ragnarok)

Sakon and Ukon both groaned in pain as they got up from the ground slowly, trying hard to ignore the pain from the corrosive bijuu chakra and from crashing into the boulder.

Hikari thought, 'Time to end this.'

The Kyuubi grinned, "Hmph, about time. So, how will you do it?"

Hikari didn't reply, instead, a Chidori ignited in her left hand while a Rasengan swirled into existence in her right hand.

The two brothers seemed to knew what was coming and started to go through handseals for a summoning jutsu.

Then Hikari charged, the Rasengan and Chidori ready to pierce through whatever Sakon and Ukon threw at them. The two brothers reacted quickly, slamming their arms on the ground, "Kuchiyose: Rashomon!"

A huge demonic gate rose from the ground and Hikari's attacks slammed into the gates. For a moment, the gate seemed to hold against the combined attacks, but then, the gates broke apart, allowing Hikari to push through, but her Rasengan and Chidori had died out as a result.

The girl didn't let it bother her. Instead, she used the chance to shoot several spiked chains from her arms that pierced through Sakon and Ukon's chest. Then Hikari willed more chains to shoot out from the part of the chains that were in the brothers' body, piercing through their heart, brain and several other organs, killing them instantly.

Hikari sighed as she dispersed her chains, staring at the lifeless faces of the brothers. The girl then turned to where Sasuke's barrel supposedly was and started to walk towards it, "Finally..."

But just as she reached the barrel, she heard the Kyuubi yell, "Jump back, now!"

The girl's eyes widened as she leaped back just in time to dodge a slash from a white haired man in clothing similar to that of Orochimaru.

Hikari thought, 'The heck, reinforcements?'

The man glanced at the corpse of the two brothers and spoke, "So, Sakon and Ukon failed. Whatever, their weakness is not to be allowed."

Hikari glared at him, "What are you saying? Weren't they your friends?"

The man tilted his head, "Friends? You've got it wrong. Those two idiots were just soldiers, they failed to fulfill their mission, death would have been a fitting punishments anyways."

Hikari growled as she glared at him, "You bastard..."

The man took a stance, "Enough talk, I have received orders from Orochimaru-sama to capture you, and I assure you I am not like them."

Hikari narrowed her slitted eyes, still in her one tailed form as she retook her stance. Then before the two could charge, a foul chakra exploded from the barrel, pushing both of them skidding back several feet.

Hikari regained her bearings and looked up to see Sasuke standing where the barrel was, his skin seemingly grey before it turned normal again.

The Uchiha noticed Hikari, and for a brief moment, the girl could see a flash of guilt, sadness and regret in his eyes before they hardened. Sasuke looked at the man, "That clothing, you're one of Orochimaru's lackeys, aren't you?"

The man got up, "My name is Kimimaro, Sasuke-sama. Orochimaru-sama sent me in case the team that retrieved you failed. Please, proceed to meet up with Orochimaru-sama, I shall capture the girl as per my orders and meet with you later."

Sasuke nodded before he leaped off, making sure to ask Orochimaru why he wanted to capture Hikari later.

Hikari tch'd and tried to gave chase but was stopped by Kimimaro blocking her off. The man spoke, "Where do you think you're going? Orochimaru-sama has ordered me to bring you back unconscious, I don't take failures well."

The girl growled and sent a wave of chains at the man. Kimimaro huffed before he shattered all the chains with what seemed to be a sword made of ivory.

The man spoke, "As I said earlier, I cannot fail."

Kimimaro then charged and swung his sword at the last Namikaze. The girl summoned a dozen chains in both hands and swung them at him.

The man quickly jumped up to avoid the attack before he came down slashing at Hikari. But the girl wasn't about to let him do as he pleased. Extending a chakra arm from her back, Hikari punched Kimimaro and sent him flying away.

Then, as Kimimaro got up, a gigantic fist made of sand appeared and crushed the man. Hikari blinked in surprise before the man burst out of the sand. But before he could act, a huge gust of wind blew him away.

The girl then heard, "Hey, Hikari."

She turned to see the three Sand siblings. Gaara spoke, "Go, we'll deal with him."

The Namikaze said, a bit surprised, "Why are you here?"

Kankuro grinned, "Well, Hokage-sama sent a request to our village, and the elders decided it wouldn't hurt to send help. But, it seemed that the others were done with their enemies, so here we are."

Hikari nodded, "I see."

Temari frowned, "Don't just stand there then, go get that Uchiha back."

The Uzumaki nodded, "Thanks, I owe you one."

The girl then quickly leaped away, chasing after Sasuke.

Kimimaro growled as he got up and tried to chase after the blonde girl. But he was blocked by another blonde girl. Temari smirked as she clashed her metal fan against his sword, "We came all the way from Suna, I seriously don't want to come here and do nothing."

Gaara chuckled before he willed a wave of sand to rise beneath Kimimaro, sending the man crashing into a tree. Kimimaro growled as he got up, but before he could act, he was slugged by Kankuro's Karasu, sending him flying into the ground.

The three siblings went to continue their onslaught, but they were stopped by a huge burst of chakra and a yell, "ENOUGH! I AM OROCHIMARU-SAMA'S ELITE! I WILL NOT FAIL MY MISSION BECAUSE OF YOU TOYING AROUND!"

The three siblings stared at the man, to find his appearance changed drastically. Instead of pale skin, Kimimaro had dark brown skin. His sword had engulfed his arm, forming a huge spear as his bones stuck out of his skin like spikes.

Temari said in shock, "That sword, was your bone?"

Kankuro said in awe, "The Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai."

Gaara nodded as his sand swirled around him, "But, that chakra is unnatural."

The young redhead then heard a voice in his head, the Shukaku, but more tame, "It feels like nature chakra, but bastardized. Be careful brat."

Gaara smirked, 'Hmph, no need to remind me.'

After Hikari had fix his seal, the Jinchurikii had once entered his mindscape at night when he was meditating. He found the Ichibi and found out it was mostly due to the faulty seal that Shukaku went mad, not that he wasn't insane in the beginning anyways. Regardless, the two youngest among their respective siblings hit off quickly, and the Shukaku had allowed Gaara use of his chakra and powers.

Seeing the transformed Kimimaro, Gaara tapped into Shukaku's chakra, causing red bijuu chakra to flow out of his seal, covering his body.

(Just so I make it clear, Gaara can use all versions of bijuu chakra here. He can use the first version cloak, the second version, but only with one tail, and the full transformation)

Temari noticed her youngest brother entering the first version of his chakra cloak and readied her fan while Kankuro summoned all three of his puppets.

Then the four charged. Gaara swung his arm, sending a wave of bijuu chakra charged sand at Kimimaro as Temari swung his fan as hard as she could.

The two waves of sand and wind struck the man straight on, but the reinforced bones held strong. Kimimaro then thrust his spear at the Karasu, piercing through its chest. But through Kankuro's skillful manipulation, the puppet split into pieces and latched onto the man.

Kimimaro growled as he felt the puppet try to pierce through his skin with needles and blades, and worst of all he couldn't shake them off. Then all of a sudden, the puppet released him. The man looked up and saw why.

Above him, Gaara and Temari stood on a sand platform, more importantly, a huge sphere of wind and sand the size of a wrecking ball swirled above them, not unlike a sandstorm.

Then the two siblings released their attack. Kimimaro cursed, in his second state, he was very slow and couldn't possibly outrun the attack, so he did the next best thing.

Charging chakra into his bone spear, he launched it like a missle towards the sphere, ready to detonate it into shrapnel of bones to stop the attack.

But to his shock, as soon as the spear thrust into the sphere, the raging sand and wind seemed to grind against the bone, turning it into dust.

Then before he realized it, the sphere was already right above him. The man cursed and reinforced his body as much as he could. Then the attack hit him.

As the attack started to grind into the ground, Temari thought aloud, "Did we get him?"

Neither of her brothers responded, but they didn't need to. The attack soon dispersed, revealing a huge smooth crater, more importantly, Kimimaro stood there, his clothes ripped to shreds, his body was bleeding all over, his skin gone.

The man growled in pain as he glared at the three siblings. The attack had almost destroyed his very being, had he not charge every bit of chakra he could into his bones and body, he would be dead now.

Kankuro grimaced, "Damn, that's not a pretty sight..."

Gaara shook his head, "No, but to survive a sandstorm of that calibre, he is strong."

Temari frowned, "Can you two not be so nonchalant about this? He withstood one of our strongest techniques!"

Kankuro chuckled, "Chillax sis, I think Gaara has this covered."

The youngest sibling huffed, "Obviously."

Gaara then thought, 'I'll be using that, Shukaku.'

The Ichibi grinned, "Yeah, go ahead."

The Ichibified shinobi raised his arm above him, forming a huge spear made of sand, more specifically the hardest materials Gaara could control. This was a technique inspired by the Sandaime Kazekage's Iron Sand, which in turn was inspired by the Shukaku who molded sand to his image.

The spear hardened and Gaara swung his arm down, "Ichibi no Yari!"

Kimimaro, being wounded from the previous attack, didn't even made a move to dodge the attack. He had miscalculated, believing that after surviving the sand storm attack, he could still take on the three siblings, but he realized it a tad bit too late.

The man just closed his eyes as the spear pierced through his chest, pushing him towards a boulder. The man thought, 'Orochimaru-sama, I have failed you...'

Then he gave his final breath as he fell to the ground, lifeless.

Gaara sighed, "We're done."

Just then, they saw a black and red blur fly past them towards where Hikari was headed. Temari spoke, "Let's go."

The two of her brothers nodded as the three siblings headed towards Hikari's direction, with Suguha, Sinon and Asuna doing the same not too far behind them, though unknown to both groups.

Meanwhile, right after Hikari left, the girl leaped through the trees, sensing Sasuke's chakra to follow him. The girl, for the life of her, was confused about why Sasuke ran off like that, it made her question if he was really kidnapped.

But following that line of thought, Hikari still didn't understand why the hell would he choose Orochimaru of all people. Hikari thought, if he went to the snake just so he could get stronger, then he seriously didn't think it through, since it was the very village Orochimaru and Itachi both grew strong in, that Sasuke was trying to leave.

Then she thought, if he left because of her. Hikari knew it was a possibility, even though she didn't like it, as since from the academy, Sasuke had shown interest in her, to the extent that one could call it borderline obsession. With how he was rejected at every turn, well, it wouldn't be too strange to say that he would betray the village for that reason. There are people like that after all.

The girl was brought out of her musings as she reached a huge area, with giant statues of the Shodaime Hokage and Uchiha Madara standing face to face, both holding the seal of confrontation, the Valley of The End.

Hikari burst out of the trees and landed on the Hashirama statue's head, noticing Sasuke standing on Madara's head waiting for her.

Sasuke spoke out, "Hikari, why are you chasing after me?"

The girl stared at him, "It should be obvious, I'm bringing you back to Konoha."

The Uchiha, for a brief moment, hoped that she was chasing after him because she could reciprocate his feelings, but the young man knew better. In his semi-death state to activate the second stage of the mark, Sasuke had regained a bit of consciousness, not enough to know what was happening outside the barrel, but enough to think of his actions and his life until now.

Sasuke knew he had done nothing to earn Hikari's affections. After leaving the village, he had cleared his mind and really thought about everything, and he realized that his approach to Hikari had been wrong.

The Uchiha stared at the girl, "Hokage's orders, huh?"

Hikari nodded before Sasuke asked, "Probably because they want the Sharingan, or they don't want my blood to fall into Orochimaru's hands, right?"

Hikari didn't reply, instead allowing Sasuke to continue, "Besides, why would I want to go back? There is nothing worth staying there for, not anymore anyways."

Hikari stared at him, "You think going to Orochimaru will help you get stronger? Where do you think Orochimaru and Itachi grew strong in?"

The Uchiha's blood boiled a bit at Itachi's name, but he forced it down, "True, its because of Konohagakure that both of them grew strong. But the village is not what it was at their time. At this rate, I will never catch up to Itachi, and Orochimaru offered me power. Plus, as I said, I have nothing left for me to stay in Konoha. But, you're always welcome to join me."

The girl narrowed her eyes at him, "You're still going on with that?"

Sasuke chuckled and shook his head, "No, I'm done. I finally see it, I never did anything to earn your affections, it was all one sided on my part. But, my feelings are real, that's why, I want to put an end to everything here."

Hikari stared at him, after all these years, he had finally let go, but not the way she would have wanted it. The girl sighed, 'Damn this is troublesome.'

Thr Kyuubi chuckled as he heard his host's thought, "You sure have it rough."

Hikari nodded, 'I suppose a fight is inevitable now. Finally the first time we talk normally, and its because he gave up and wants to go to Orochimaru.'

The Kyuubi laughed as Hikari's eyes hardened and she spoke, "Your personal feelings aside, Sasuke. I still have a mission, and I will bring you back, even if I have to use force."

The Uchiha sighed, "I see. I hoped you would see it my way, but, I suppose that's asking too much. But..."

All of a sudden, Sasuke vanished and Hikari raised her arm to block a punch from the Uchiha. Sasuke said, "I did say I will put an end to my feelings now, since you are here. That's why, I will kill you here and now."

Hikari's eyes narrowed, "I see. Then, I won't hold back."

Sasuke smirked, his Sharingan spinning wildly, "I expect nothing less from you, if you don't give it everything, then even if I kill you, it would be meaningless, and I won't be able to move on."

Hikari responded by shooting several chains from her back at Sasuke. The Uchiha tch'd and jumped away to avoid the chains.

He landed several feet away and quickly went through a set of handseals, "Chidori!"

Sasuke charged forward and thrust his arm at Hikari's chest. But the girl saw the attack coming a mile away and leaned away, letting the attack pass by her. Then, taking advantage of his imbalance, Hikari sent a hard punch to Sasuke's face, sending him flying down towards the water.

But the Uchiha wasn't just about to let himself fall, quickly reacting, he reached out and grabbed Hikari's wrist, pulling the unsuspecting girl along with him as they fell towards the water.

Soon, they reached the water and skidded across the lake before they flipped and steadied themselves, using water walking to stand on the river.

Sasuke quickly flashed through a set of seals and yelled again, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

Hikari responded by summoning a wall of chains to block the fireball. Then she dispersed the chains and dashed forward, throwing a punch at Sasuke.

If it was Sasuke a week ago, he wouldn't have stood a chance. But the activation of the cursed mark's second stage had further boosted his base abilities, putting him near Hikari's current level.

Sasuke, with his Sharingan, saw the punch coming and quickly moved his body away by leaning to the side, letting the punch pass by him. The Uchiha then quickly sent an uppercut at Hikari, punching her hard and sending her flying into the water.

The young avenger quickly ran over to where Hikari supposedly was and conjured up a Chidori, ready to thrust it into the water and electrocute the girl.

What he didn't expect, was that as soon as he moved past a few steps, the water around him erupted as hundreds of Hikari's clones shot out of the river.

Sasuke's eyes widened as the army of girls came down at him, and on a split second, he activated the first stage of his cursed mark. For the first few seconds, Sasuke managed to fend off the first wave of clones. But as soon as the second wave hit him, that changed.

The Uchiha couldn't even move as the second wave of blondes bombarded him with punches, kicks and attacks from chains. For every clone he dispelled, he received an attack from everywhere, and it was painful as hell.

Then, soon, the combo ended, with Sasuke limping on the water, barely standing. To be frank, Hikari was surprised Sasuke was still standing.

The Uchiha however, was livid. He believed that with his increased abilities due to the mark, he would at least stand equal to Hikari. But apparently she was out of his league.

Sasuke growled and activated the second stage of his cursed mark, causing his skin to turn grey, a cross forming on his face and a set of claw like wings on his back.

Hikari stared in surprise at the transformation, "What did you do to yourself?"

Sasuke stared at the girl hard, "The same as you, you have the Kyuubi's chakra, right? This is what Orochimaru gave me, its nothing Konoha can give me."

The girl sighed and thought, 'Hey, Kyuubi, how many tails do I need?'

The Kyuubi pondered as he gauged Sasuke's power levels before he answered, "Three should be enough, since power wise he is around two to three tails, but I'd prefer you go with four, stay on the safe side."

Hikari nodded and allowed the bijuu chakra to flow through her body yet again. Then, to Sasuke's shock, red and dark chakra started to coat Hikari's skin, forming a miniature humanoid four tailed bijuu.

Then, before he could react, Hikari vanished and appeared right in front of Sasuke. The Uchiha barely had time to even move his eyes before Hikari slammed her fist into his face, sending him crashing into a boulder.

Sasuke struggled to get up as Hikari appeared in front of him. The girl then grabbed him in the face and slammed him onto the ground hard. But she wasn't done.

Not letting go of the Uchiha, Hikari pulled and flung Sasuke at the river, causing him to skid across the water for quite some distance. She then opened her mouth, allowing chakra to gather right in front of her.

The Kyuubi spoke, "Oi, are you sure he can survive that? I welcome the deaths of any Uchiha, but you have a mission, right?"

Hikari nodded, 'I know. Besides, he won't die from this. Fatally injured or unconscious maybe, but I'm certain he won't die.'

The Kyuubi just shrugged, "Eh, whatever then... '

Hikari didn't reply and instead focused on locking onto Sasuke. As soon as the Uchiha skidded to a stop, the Kyuubified blonde unleashed the mini-Bijuudama at him.

Sasuke didn't even have the time to look up as the bullet of compressed chakra slammed into his body. It was only because it was a low powered Bijuudama, along with his enhanced endurance from the cursed mark, that Sasuke wasn't vaporised on the spot.

Hikari let out a breath as she let the Kyuubi's chakra leave her body, reverting to her normal state. The girl then walked towards Sasuke's limp body on the water, as the water her mini Bijuudama blew away came raining down.

The girl thought, 'Finally, I can go home and take a bath.'

She looked at Sasuke before she reach to hoist him up from the water, unaware of the white snake below her in the water.

As soon as she grabbed Sasuke, she heard the Kyuubi yell, "Girl, move!"

But it was too late as the snake bit her leg, injecting her with its neurotoxin, at the same time, placing a suppression seal on her. The girl immediately felt dizzy as she stumbled, struggling to stay upright before she fell into the water, 'What... is this? I feel... so weak?'

The Kyuubi cursed as he tried his best to keep the poison from spreading, but to no avail, "Fucking shit! He placed a seal on the snake!"

Meanwhile outside, Orochimaru stood beside the fallen bodies of Sasuke and Hikari, "Kukuku, seals really are a wonderful thing. Sad I couldn't get the other girls, but these will do."

The snake sannin summoned a pair of snakes to carry the two teens. Truth to be told, Orochimaru was really intrigued by Hikari's prowess. Maybe he could clone her before he sent the girl to the Akatsuki.

Then, he was cut off from his musings by a voice, "OROCHIMARU!"

The sannin blinked, "Hmm?"

The man quickly jumped up just as a black blurr crashed into the water, slicing the snake summons as he released Hikari and Sasuke from the snakes' bindings.

The water rained down from the impact as the furious face of Kirito glared at Orochimaru, his swords drawn and gleaming in response to their owner's rage.

Orochimaru smirked, "You're late, Kirito."

XXX

Done. So, after the next chapter or so, I will close the poll for Unlimited Blade Works, and reopen the poll for the next story I'm doing.

So yeah, review please.


	31. Chapter 31

Hey. So **guest** , well, I know that Kimimaro shouldn't be able to shatter the chakra chains, but let's just say Hikari's chains aren't as strong as Kushina's chains and leave it at that...

To the other **Guest** , well, I'm using quite a lot of the cannon history, so since Orochimaru left the Akatsuki, he has some past problems with them, so giving them the Kyuubi would solve those problems.

And to the poll, well, its official, Kirito is getting Unlimited Blade Works, with 37 to 10 votes... But then again, I should have expected this... And just so we're clear, he will only get it at the end of the Aincrad arc.

And since this poll is closed, I will be reopening the poll for the next story I'm doing. So yeah.

Anyways, let's start with the 31st chapter.

XXX

Kirito glowered at the snake sannin as he held his swords. The young man knew he probably couldn't take Orochimaru on and leave alive, so he had to stall and use his Acceleration in one full burst to get both Sasuke and Hikari away.

But for that to happen, he needed an opening first. Kirito wasn't so stupid to think Orochimaru would let him go so easily after all.

Orochimaru grinned, "Eh, so, what are you waiting for?"

Kirito didn't reply as his mind raced for ideas to create an opening where he was in a position to run. The snake sannin took a step forward, "Kukuku, well, if you're not gonna make the first move, then I suppose I will!"

In an instant, Orochimaru appeared in front of Kirito, the Kusanagi drawn to strike. The blacksmith instinctively activated his Acceleration and dodged the slashes before he spun and sliced Orochimaru in half at the waist.

But the Snake Sannin didn't earn his title by allowing himself to get sliced apart that easily. As soon as the blades cut through his waist, the man melted into water and appeared several meters away.

The man cackled, "Is that it? I guess you really haven't gotten stronger. A shame, I was actually hoping you would do better than you did during the Chunnin Exams."

Kirito glared at the snake, his eyes unknowingly flickering between yellow and his original eye colour. The man smirked as he saw that before he jumped back to dodge a slash from the Elucidator.

Then, in a flash of red, Kirito appeared in front of Orochimaru again in a spinning position. The swordsman swung his swords (Levi style) at Orochimaru who quickly brought up the Kusanagi to block.

Then to his surprise, right before the blades met, Kirito adjusted his swords so that they struck the flat of the Kusanagi, avoiding damage to his swords and at the same time, disarming Orochimaru as the Kusanagi flew out of his hands and into the water.

The man wasn't too concerned, however, since he could easily retrieve the sword later with his snake summons. What mattered more was obtaining his two vessels and the girl.

Orochimaru laughed gleefully, "Not bad, but, Kirito, you have more, don't you, SHOW ME!"

Kirito charged forward, his swords glowing light blue as his body glowed red. Orochimaru's eyes widened as the young man yelled before he vanished, "ECLIPSE!"

In an instant, Kirito sent 27 consecutive slashes at Orochimaru, just as he did the last time. And just like the previous time, Orochimaru would have been sliced to pieces had he not substitute with a mud clone.

But there was one difference, Kirito wasn't as tired as he was the last time, since he had trained to improve himself.

As Kirito skidded to a stop, the young blacksmith cursed as he saw the man melt into mud. He quickly flew upwards just in time to dodge a stab from the Kusanagi from behind.

As he stayed midair, Kirito growled at the smirking Orochimaru. He then realised his mistake. Now that he had flew upwards, Orochimaru could close the distance between him and Hikari and Sasuke easily.

The swordsman quickly shot downwards and sent a slash at Orochimaru who dodged it easily, causing a huge wave to rise up from the impact of Kirito striking the water.

Then, to Orochimaru's surprise and amusement, in a flash of red, Kirito, Hikari and Sasuke vanished from sight. The sannin laughed, 'So he wants to play like that, very well.'

The man then vanished via Shunshin, unaware of the frown of the face of one Uchiha Itachi. The elder Uchiha then wordlessly vanished into a flock of crows, following them.

(Just so no one gets confused, in terms of direction, if Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and the Sand Siblings are moving from the South. Kusagakure is at the north, so Kirito, Hikari and Sasuke are going to the east. I know the Elemental Nations map says otherwise, but I'm just saying that for easier understanding.)

As Kirito sped past the trees out into the air, carrying Hikari and Sasuke, each in one arm, his swords sealed away, he spotted Orochimaru easily keeping up with him.

Kirito cursed as Orochimaru spat out a few dozens snakes at him. The young man quickly flipped and chanted, "Ek verpa einn brandr mus pilli, kalla bresta bani, steypa lundr drott!"

A dozen fireballs appeared around Kirito and shot towards the snakes, burning them alive. Orochimaru smirked, slightly impressed at the spell as he leaped through the trees.

Kirito then turned and increased the Acceleration, speeding up even more. He couldn't use it at full power for too long, even if he disregarded the drain of his reserves, since the Acceleration didn't extend to other people he was carrying. If he did that, then the g-force would kill Hikari and Sasuke.

Then, as he flew, his caught the glint of metal. Kirito flipped and easily avoided the kunai, but that was his mistake. Then suddenly, Kirito was pushed towards the ground by Orochimaru who had used the Shunshin and Kawarimi to appear above Kirito.

Kirito cursed as Orochimaru's voice reached his ears, "You've given me quite some fun, but it all ends here."

The man raised a kunai and stabbed it into Kirito's back, causing him to yell in pain as they fell towards the ground.

Kirito cursed as the ground was reaching them fast. He spotted two large branches and quickly threw Sasuke and Hikari at them, letting them crash into the branches, luckily staying above the trees as he did. Unfortunately, because Orochimaru was on his back, he couldn't do anything more.

Without the two people in his arms, Kirito quickly flipped, ignoring the pain on his back, and kicked Orochimaru away before he painfully extended his wings again and stopped his fall just in time as he reached the ground.

But due to Orochimaru stabbing his back, which unfortunately just so happened to be near one of his wings, the wings vanished due to the injury. Kirito growled in pain as he spotted Orochimaru getting up, he glanced upwards and spotted both Hikari and Sasuke unconscious on the branches, safe for now.

But then came the bigger problem, Kirito could possibly fight and win against Orochimaru. He had let his anger gotten the better of him and he had rushed straight in, now he was paying the price.

Orochimaru also seemed to have read his thoughts and smirked, "So, what are you gonna do now, Kirito?"

The young man thought, his chakra reserves were running low, especially if he needed to use the Acceleration. Then his mark started to pulse, but to Kirito's confusion, instead of the foul chakra Orochimaru and Sasuke emitted, it was familiar, it felt natural, it felt right.

Orochimaru also seemed to notice it, mostly because the mark was glowing a dark yellow instead of the dark purple the marks usually let out. The man narrowed his eyes and reached to feel the connection of his soul fragment in the seal, and to his shock, it wasn't there.

Orochimaru glared at him, "What did you do to the mark?!"

Kirito didn't answer him, instead, he was focused on the mark. The aura the mark let out was getting more familiar every second, it was like a power he had for a long time but lost it, and now it was coming back. It felt nostalgic.

The young man decided to let loose the power in the seal, and at that instant, to the shock of Orochimaru and Itachi, who had arrived just now, Kirito's wounds healed and he had a yellow aura around him as his eyes turned yellow.

To Kirito, as he drew his swords, for a brief moment, he saw two different yet similar swords in his hands. They were both the same colours of his Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor, but instead of the normal guards, the black sword's guard had something that looked like a symbol of a tree, and the blue sword had a rose on the guard.

But the vision faded as soon as it came, and Kirito decided to file it off for later, instead deciding to focus on his current problem.

Kirito stared at Orochimaru coldly, focusing his aura at him. At the point, Orochimaru found himself unable to breathe, just moments ago, Kirito couldn't injure him, but now, the Sannin could literally see his death.

With Itachi, he cursed, while it wasn't the way Kirito was supposed to awaken his powers, even if it was too early, the young man had drawn on the power of the Underworld. The Uchiha sighed, at least it wasn't fully awakened yet. It was something the late Sandaime and Kayaba had told him, during one of his reports some time ago, and the important thing was that Kirito was not to awaken his powers before Kayaba finished his project.

But what's done is done, at the very least, it wasn't fully awakened. Back to the fight though, Kirito glowed red, the yellow aura mixing with the glow of the Acceleration, making hin turn orange, then he vanished and reappeared in front of Orochimaru.

The elder man's eyes widened as he quickly jumped back, trying to draw the Kusanagi in reflex but only to realize he had dropped it at the river at the Valley of the End.

He realized his mistake a little too late as Kirito swung his swords, barely touching his cheeks as the blades passed his face. Orochimaru growled as he regained his footing and thrust his arms forward, shooting several snakes from his sleeves.

But the next thing Kirito did made his eyes widen, or rather, the words that left his mouth as he held his swords up, "Release Recollection."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the swords exploded in a bright light blue light. Kiriro, for some reason, had expected the black sword to release a dark beam of energy, and the blue sword to release icy thorny tendrils.

But that wasn't the case, as the swords he had forged were made with the purpose of lighting up and protecting the future of the four girls he loved so much.

So instead, the swords emitted a bright light blue light of energy, combining to form a massive pillar of energy stemming from the pair of swords.

The amount of energy pouring out of the blades shocked Orochimaru anf Itachi, hell, it even surprised the Kyuubi who could feel it in Hikari's seal, who was still unconcious.

Then, Kirito roared as he swung the beam of energy down at Orochimaru. The man's eyes widened as the blade slammed into him, and he knew no more.

Kirito panted as he lowered his swords, seeing the smooth crater he made with the attack. The young man then quickly turned and extended his wings again, speeding towards the branches where Hikari and Sasuke were.

Kirito then grabbed them and quickly shot towards the air, heading back for the Valley of the End.

As he flew, Kirito thought, 'This power, it feels familiar, maybe I should ask Kayaba-sensei about this when he gets back.'

Soon, he reached the river and spotted Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and the Sand siblings, and they were surprised to see the man carrying both Hikari and Sasuke.

Kirito landed on the ground and placed both the last Uchiha and last Namikaze on the ground as Suguha asked, "Kirito-kun, what are you doing here?"

Sinon nodded, "And, why are you glowing?"

Kirito didn't reply, instead the glow faded and he fell to the ground unconscious, causing everyone to rush to his side in concern.

Meanwhile, around a mile away, one burnt Orochimaru leaned on a tree as he struggled to move. The sannin thought, 'Fucking shit, how can he unleash so much power all at once?!'

He let out a breath and decided to look at the bright side, 'Well, at least this proves he's worthy of being my next body.'

As he moved, the sight of one man made his eyes widen. The calm but angry eyes of one Uchiha Itachi stared down at the Sannin as the Uchiha slayer spoke, "Orochimaru..."

The man smirked, "Itachi, is there anything I can help you with?"

In an instant, Itachi appeared in front of him and grabbed his neck, strangling him, "I can kill you now, you know?"

Orochimaru struggled to breathe, with his current state, he couldn't possibly fight Itachi, not that he could in the beginning anyways. Itachi continued, "Your desire for the Sharingan, frankly I don't care about that, or if you were to use any other Uchiha, but you tried to use my foolish brother."

The man tightened his grip on the snake's neck, "Then, you foolishly targeted Kayaba's apprentice, you should know who he is by now, but I suppose, you don't care."

Itachi sighed and contemplated if he should kill the man, after all, regardless of the trouble Orochimaru would bring, he was still useful in a way. The man decided to be merciful for once and let go of the Sannin's neck, "Get out of my sight. If I catch wind of you even touching Sasuke, Hikari or Kirito..."

He let the threat hang in the air, but Orochimaru knew he would kill him, after all, the Sannin knew very well Itachi was still the loyal Anbu he always was, and he was always the brother who would spare his brother in exchange for killing the rest of his clan.

The snake wordlessly left in a Shunshin, which was quite painful considering his current state. Itachi sighed and left the area, heading towards a small village.

The man reached out to sense if Zetsu was around. He knew the plant-man was on a mission to Iwagakure, but he had to be careful. After that, he entered a bar and headed straight for a private room, where one Jiraiya was waiting.

The elder Uchiha greeted the man, "Jiraiya."

The man nodded, "Hey, so?"

Itachi sat down on one of the cushions and spoke, "The Akatsuki are officially moving in one year."

Jiraiya nodded, "I see, and if Kayaba finishes his project in time, which is two years, then we need to get ready."

Itachi nodded, "Yeah. Train the girl well, we'll need her."

The older man nodded, "Of course, I'm planning to take her on a one year trip to fully focus on her training after all."

Itachi nodded, "I see. By the way, Kirito has partially awakened his powers."

Jiraiya's eyes slightly widened, "Are you serious?"

The man nodded, "Orochimaru tried to bring Sasuke over to his side, and since the Hokage sent Hikari and three other girls to retrieve him, Orochimaru baited Kirito into chasing after them. Long story short, Kirito fought Orochimaru, almost lost badly, and awakened his heirtage via the cursed mark. "

The Sannin let out a breath, "I see. So, what does it do then?"

Itachi nodded, "From what I could see, it gave Kirito a boost, enhancing his base abilities. He could also use something called, Release Recollection."

Jiraiya nodded, "Probably one of his powers as a descendant of the Underworld."

The Uchiha nodded, "Yeah, here, this month's reports."

The man handed a file to Jiraiya who took it, "Thanks, Itachi."

The Uchiha nodded and turned before he dispersed into a dozen crows. Jiraiya then stood up and thought, 'Time to go then. Those kids should be back in the village by now.'

A while later, in the Hokage's office, Hikari and her team along with the Sand siblings stood in front of Tsunade. Kirito was still out cold, but after the Hokage checked, it was only because he was exhausted.

Hikari had woken up on the way back thanks to the Kyuubi who managed to undo the seal and clear her system of the poison, along with her already impressive Uzumaki regeneration factor.

As for Sasuke, the young Uchiha was still unconscious, though Hikari, under the insistence of the Hokage, sealed up the cursed mark with a Hakke fuin, similar to the one that was holding the Kyuubi. A bit of an overkill, but after what happened, they didn't want to take any risks.

After receiving the reports, Tsunade sighed, "I see. So, no one really knows what happened after Orochimaru knocked Hikari out. I guess I'll have to ask Kirito about that."

The woman then looked at the group of young ninja in front of her, "Anyways, good job. After Kirito and Sasuke wake up, I'll get a report from the both of them. And by the way, thanks for coming, Gaara. I'll send you the pay later. "

The redhead nodded in response before Tsunade looked at the others, "You're dismissed. Take the next two days off."

The girls and the three siblings nodded and excused themselves from the office. As soon as the door closed, Tsunade spoke up, "So, Jiraiya?"

At that moment, Jiraiya entered from the window, "I got the report from our weasel, you're better off reading it yourself."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as Jiraiya handed her a file. The Hokage quickly skimmed through it and her eyes narrowed, "So, the Akatsuki is moving..."

Jiraiya nodded, "In a year or so, and besides, Kirito has partially awakened his powers, that's why they got Sasuke back."

Tsunade sighed and slumped on her chair, rubbing her temples, "Yeah, that explains a lot. But to be frank, I don't know what to do here, I mean, in the end he's still a civilian, and there are no rules that civilians can't help on missions."

Jiraiya chuckled as he leaned on the wall, "True. But, it doesn't change the fact that Orochimaru came in again and provoked him into chasing after them. Besides, Itachi was ready to intervene, but he didn't need to, and according to him, Orochimaru wants all three of them."

Tsunade sighed, "Fucking son of a bitch... The snake just can't stop giving us trouble, huh?"

Jiraiya nodded before the woman continued, "Whatever... So, when are you planning on telling our goddaughter?"

The frog sage let out a breath, "No idea. I'll probably tell them when Kirito wakes up, better let all of them know first. But I'll deal with it when the time comes. Besides, how are you gonna deal with the Uchiha?"

Tsunade looked at the reports on her desk, according to Hikari, Sasuke wasn't taken forcefully, instead he willingly went with them. Granted he may have been under the influence of the mark, but reports of his past behavior said otherwise.

The woman sighed, "No idea. Probably have more Anbu watch over him, if he was actually captured, then all I need is to prevent Orochimaru from coming in. But the problem is he went willingly."

Jiraiya nodded before he suggested, "Hey, since Hikari sealed up the mark, he may not be under its influence anymore, how about talking to him first?"

The last living Senju nodded before she stood up, "Sure. I'll do that. I need a break... And some sake, wanna join me?"

Jiraiya shrugged, "Sure, why not. As long as you get back before Shizune checks on you."

Tsunade paled slightly, after all the last time she slacked off for sake, which resulted in a pile of work, her apprentice had made her think twice about slacking off again. But then, this time was different, since her tasks at hand were all completed, so it should be find... Should be.

The woman shook her head and glared at him slightly, "It'll be fine...and Jiraiya, you're paying later."

The man just laughed as the two old friends headed for a bar.

The next day, in the afternoon, in Kirito's room back in the compound, the young man groaned as he opened his eyes to see the familiar ceiling of his room. Kirito groaned as he thought, 'Where am I?'

The last thing he remembered was seeing Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and the Sand siblings at the Valley of the End. Then he remembered, the mark. Kirito quickly got off the bed and went to look at the mirror, but the mark was still the same.

He frowned and reached down into it, and true enough, the familiar feeling was there. Then he pulled. Immediately, his body was covered in a yellow aura, his eyes taking the same glow. He felt stronger, more complete yet still incomplete in a way, as if he still lacked something.

The young man decided to file that for later and focus on his current state. But before he could further study his new found powers, the door opened, startling him as the aura faded.

As the door opened to reveal Sinon, the archer was surprised to see Kirito awake. The girl said in surprise, "Kirito-kun! You're awake!"

Kirito turned and saw the girl, "Hey, Sinon-chan."

The brunette quickly went over to him and asked, "Are you okay, Kirito-kun?"

The young man smiled, "I'm fine. But more importantly, how's Hikari-chan? What happened to the mission?"

Sinon frowned slightly, "Hikari-chan is fine, I suppose we were lucky you were there, or we would have lost her. And the mission was a success, we got Sasuke back and Hokage-sama has more Anbu watching him."

Kirito nodded before Sinon glared at him slightly, "Speaking of which, after I get the others, you're gonna explain what were you doing there."

Kirito just smiled forcefully as the girl walked out to get the other girls.

A while later, Sinon gathered Hikari, Suguha and Asuna and they all sat in the living room. Like Sinon, the three of them checked over Kirito for any problems before they glared at him for making them worry.

Hikari asked, "So, what were you doing there?"

Kirito smiled nervously, "Erm, Orochimaru threatened to hurt you girls, so I kinda rushed out?"

Asuna sighed, "But, I guess everything turned out okay, I mean, because Kirito-kun rushed in, we didn't lose Hikari-chan and we also got Sasuke back."

Hikari and Suguha nodded, the blonde said, "Yeah, but, to think Orochimaru would use a suppression seal along with poison on me..."

In the seal, the Kyuubi apologised, "Sorry I couldn't help much, Hikari."

The girl smiled softly mentally, 'It's fine. Everything turned out fine anyways.'

The Kyuubi nodded as Sinon spoke, "Well, since everything turned out fine, I guess we can let this slide, what do you think girls?"

Suguha smiled slightly, "Well, I don't mind, since we got back safely."

Asuna also nodded in agreement. Then Hikari grinned, "Well, they might be okay with it, but I want a dozen bowls of ramen!"

At that comment, the three girls sighed in unison as Kirito sweatdropped. A dozen was a bit less, but he wasn't about to complain, since she could do much worse.

But then before they could continue, the seal alerted them of a visitor at the door. Suguha stood up and headed for the door, "I'll get it."

The black haired girl opened the door to see Jiraiya standing there. The girl blinked, "Jiraiya-sama?"

The Sannin grinned, "Hey, I'm looking for Hikari, she in?"

Suguha nodded, "Yes, come in."

The man nodded as he entered the house and saw the other four occupants of the house. Hikari said in surprise, "Jiraiya-sensei?"

The man grinned before he noticed Kirito kneeling, "Yo, Hikari. Am I interrupting something?"

Asuna shook her head and pulled Kirito up and onto the sofa, "Not really, so, is there anything?"

Hikari nodded, "Yeah, normally you'd just waste your time outside some hotsprings, so, there must be something for you to come over."

Jiraiya just sweatdropped seeing the other two girls nodding in agreement before he cleared his throat, "Actually, I'm here to tell you that Hikari is coming with me on a one year training trip."

Hikari blinked several times, "Wait what?"

Jiraiya nodded as his face turned serious, "According to my spies, the Akatsuki are officially moving in a year and we've confirmed that most of them are all S-ranked nuke ninja, you remember Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, right?"

Hikari nodded, "I know, but a year?"

Jiraiya nodded, "Yes, their leader is a high Kage level ninja, and they will be hunting for all the Jinchurikii. That means that you will eventually fight them, that's why I want to take you alone on a one year trip. As of now you're around mid to high Jounin, but that's not enough. I need to make sure you're at least low Kage level, if not mid Kage level. Gaara and his siblings have gone back and are planning to up their training too, that's why I'm planning to train you."

The man then noticed the faces of his goddaughter's family, "You don't have to decide now, I'll come back by tomorrow morning."

Asuna nodded, "Thank you, Jiraiya-sama."

The man nodded and went to the door, "Well, think about it Hikari, I'll see you guys tomorrow."

He then left the house, leaving the five of them. After a while, Sinon spoke up, "Hikari-chan, I think you should go."

The blonde snapped her head at her, "Eh?"

Sinon let out a breath, "Think about it, he said the Akatsuki are gonna come for you in a year's time. That means you have to prepare to face them. Besides, I doubt he'll focus on training you 24/7, but a training trip for one year with one of the Sannin is not something you can get everyday, even if two of them are your godparents. "

Hikari sighed, "I know, but to leave all of you here and go train with him, well I just don't want to leave you four here."

Suguha smiled, "Well, its only for one year, its not like you're leaving forever, besides, it's Jiraiya, he'll have to come back eventually."

Asuna and Kirito both nodded, the auburn haired girl said, "Well, I think you should go too, Hikari-chan."

Hikari sighed, "Fine. I guess I'll go."

Then the blonde stared at the four, "But when I come back, I expect you to all get stronger, and Kirito-kun, I expect you to finish all 10 volumes of the Uzumaki clan fuinjutsu scrolls."

Kirito gaped, "What?! B-but all volumes?!"

Hikari frowned, "Hey, I am going to have to get from my current level to at least low Kage level in a year, I think learning all 10 levels of fuinjutsu is easy."

Kirito sighed, "Fine, I'll do it..."

Hikari nodded in satisfaction before she heard the Kyuubi's voice, "Hikari, I need to speak to your mate about something, bring him in to the seal."

Hikari blinked and thought back, 'Hmm, what brough this up? And how do I bring him into the seal?'

The Kyuubi cracked his neck, "Bump fists with him, I'll do the rest."

Hikari nodded and looked at the young man, "Kirito-kun, the Kyuubi wants to talk to you."

Kirito blinked, "What?"

Hikari held up her fist, "Come on, bump fists with me."

Kirito blinked in confusion, "Ermm, what?"

Hikari sighed, "Just do it."

Kirito nodded and bumped his fist against Hikari's. Then suddenly, he found himself in a wide plains, with a massive red nine-tailed fox wearing a loose collar standing in front of him.

The Kyuubi smirked, "Yo, fleshbag."

Kirito jumped in surprise hearing the Kyuubi talk before he heard Hikari scold, "Hey Kyuubi! Be nice!"

The bijuu chuckled, "Hey, come on, I need to put up an image, I _am_ a Bijuu after all."

Hikari huffed, "Whatever, so, you wanted to talk to him right?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "Yeah, I prefer to talk in private though, so, I'll talk to you later."

Hikari blinked, "Wait, what?!"

She was a little too late as the Kyuubi flicked a pebble at her forehead, sending her out of the mindscape. Kirito blinked in surprise at how the bijuu dismissed her, "Erm, you can do that?"

The bijuu shook his head, "Of course not. Had she really willed herself to stay here, she would have. But the girl doesn't really know how to control her mindscape, so it makes it easier for me. But, of course, Hikari will be mad and most probably blow up at me later."

Kirito chuckled, "That does sound like something she'd do."

The Kyuubi nodded before an awkward silence fell upon them. Kirito then spoke, "So, you wanted to talk to me?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "Yeah, its about that little seal of yours. I suppose you have no idea what that power is, yes?"

Kirito blinked, "You know?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "Somewhat, I remember one of Hikari's summons telling you about the Underworld, yes?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, I tried to look it up, but I couldn't find much."

The Kyuubi nodded and cupped his chin, "Hmm, I suppose it wouldn't be strange. See, the Underworld is something like a different continent to the Elemental Nations, but not exactly a different continent. Hmm, more of a different dimension, I guess?"

Kirito blinked, "A different dimension?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "I seriously have no idea about how it works, but it was accessible to the Elemental Nations some decades ago, I would say we lost contact with them around Mito's death."

Kirito nodded as the bijuu continued, "The reason is still unclear, but something big happened there, and the people of the Underworld cut off from the Elemental Nations. But then here comes another problem, you."

Kirito blinked, "Me?"

The bijuu nodded, "Its clear that you have Underworld blood in you. Hell, the power you released is obviously from the Underworld. But the question is, how did you get here? I can sense it, the gate to the Underworld is still closed, and it was closed long before your birth, so your existence is a bit of a mystery."

Kirito stood there, considering his words before he asked, "So, what do I do?"

The Kyuubi shrugged, "Hell if I know, but, I'd say nothing. For now we have no way of getting information about the Underworld. Even if the Hokage of yours knows anything, I doubt she'd tell you. So just focus on what you've been doing until now."

Kirito nodded before he touched his seal, "So it's safe for me to use this?"

The bijuu nodded, "Yeah, there's no danger in using it. But from what I can feel, its just partially awakened, your power I mean. The mark is just a way for you to tap into the power."

Kirito nodded, "Thanks, Kyuubi. So, that's all you wanted to talk about?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "Yeah, but don't tell those girls yet, its better for it to stay hidden, so get out and spend the rest of the day with the girls, Hikari's leaving tomorrow, right?"

Kirito blinked, "Wait, you know?"

The Kyuubi chuckled, "Of course, with the girl's permission, I can see and feel stuff from the outside world, of course, just the stuff she allows me to see."

Kirito nodded slowly, taking in the information. Then the Kyuubi narrowed his eyes and smirked, "Time for you to go, it was nice talkin to you, fleshbag."

Before Kirito could reply, the Kyuubi swung his tails and sent a wall of wind that blasted Kirito off into a ravine that mysteriously appeared.

Right after that, Kirito opened his eyes to see Hikari frowing, still bumping fists with him. The girl seemed to grumble, "Baka-kitsune, he threw me out of my own mind..."

Kirito just smiled awkwardly, "Erm, Hikari-chan, he just wanted to talk privately."

Hikari blinked in surprise, "Oh, you're done, that's fast."

Kirito was confused, "Wait, how long was I out?"

Sinon replied, "Not long, just a few seconds."

Suguha nodded, "Yeah, you two just bumped fists and then after a few seconds Hikari started grumbling about the stupid fox kicking her out of her own mind, then you spoke up."

Kirito nodded, "I see."

Asuna then asked, "So, what did he want to talk about?"

Kirito reached up and touched his mark, "He wanted to talk about my mark, apparently, it may be tied to my heritage, but he doesn't know how I got here, since the place I came from should be cut off from Konoha quite some time ago."

Sinon nodded, "I see, but I don't think you should worry too much about it. The important thing is we're here, right?"

The three other girls nodded in agreement.

Kirito smiled and nodded, "Of course, I'll just deal with it next time. Now, Hikari-chan wanted a dozen bowls of ramen, right?"

The blonde just cheered as the other three girls giggled/shook their heads at the girl's enthusiasm before they followed Kirito to prepare dinner.

The next day, Hikari and Jiraiya were at the gates, with Kirito, Asuna, Sinon, Suguha, Yugao, Tsunade and Kakashi accompanying them. Surprisingly, Sakura and Sasuke, who had woke up last night, were also there to see the two off.

As they reached the gates, Jiraiya looked at the group, "Well, we'll be off. So, we'll see you all in a year."

Hikari nodded and she looked at her family, "I'll be going then, I'll be back in a year."

Asuna, Sinon and Suguha smiled and the four sisters in all but blood hugged each other. They then let go as Hikari looked at Kirito. The girl jokingly said, "I'm gonna miss your ramen."

Kirito chuckled, "So you only like my food?"

Hikari giggled before Kirito kissed her on the lips. The others just smiled at the scene while Kakashi and Sakura glanced at Sasuke, knowing his infatuation with Hikari. But to their surprise, Sasuke didn't show any reaction.

Sakura whispered to Sasuke, so soft that no one heard her, "Hey, are you okay, Sasuke-kun?"

The Uchiha nodded and whispered back, "It's not my place to say anything, you can say I realized my mistakes."

Sakura just nodded before Hikari and Kirito parted. The blonde then looked at her team. Kakashi said, "Well, good luck, Hikari, I expect a good spar when you come back."

Hikari grinned, "Yeah, I'll kick your ass when I get back, Kakashi-sensei, and I'll take that mask off your face."

Kakashi just eye-smiled, "I'll look forward to it then."

Hikari just before Sasuke walked towards her. The Uchiha said, "I know I bothered you a lot, but you showed me where I went wrong, so I hope we can at least be comrades."

Hikari grinned, "Understatement of the year, but sure, get strong, Sasuke, since Itachi is part of the Akatsuki, I'll help you kick your brother's ass."

Sakura sighed, "Finally our team is complete, but then you have to go on a training trip."

Kakashi nodded in agreement, "I know right?"

Yugao chuckled, "It's only a year, man up Kakashi-senpai."

The cyclops grumbled, "Says the one who got her ideal team right off the bat..."

Hikari laughed, "Well, like Yugao-sensei said, its only for one year. Before you know it, we'll be back and doing missions like a proper team."

Kakashi sighed and nodded, "Yeah, sure. By the way, where's Anko and the others? I mean surely we can't be your only friends to see you off here?"

Jiraiya said, "Well, Gai and his team are out on a mission, same with Asuma and Kurenai and their teams."

Tsunade nodded, "As for Anko, well, we recently got a spy, so Ibiki and her are working on cracking that spy, and Shizune is at the hospital, so she couldn't come either."

Kakashi nodded, "I see."

Tsunade then looked at Hikari after talking to Jiraiya, the woman said, "Take care Hikari, you'll be travelling and seeing the world as you train, so make sure the pervert doesn't slack off."

Hikari nodded and hugged her godmother, "Got it, Tsunade-baachan."

Then after a while, Hikari pulled away and asked, "By the way, why are you all making it seem like I'll be gone for a long time?"

Kirito shrugged, "No idea, but one year is quite a long time, no?"

He looked at the others who just shrugged before Jiraiya spoke, "Well, it was nice and all, but I think we should get going."

Hikari nodded before the two left the gates, with the others watching them go off.

As the two faded from view, Kirito turned, "Well, I guess I'll go look at Kayaba-sensei's shop. He should have stuff that can help me get stronger."

Asuna, Suguha and Sinon nodded and were about to follow him when Yugao said, "Not so fast girls, we still have missions."

The girls groaned as Kirito chuckled before the swordswoman dragged her three students off with her. Tsunade just went back to her office while Kakashi just vanished, probably to read his smut.

As Kirito walked, he heard Sasuke's voice, "Kirito."

He turned and saw the Uchiha with Sakura, truthfully, he was still a bit pissed at the Uchiha for his past actions, but if Hikari let it go, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to do the same.

The Uchiha said, "Hey, you run a blacksmith, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, why?"

Sasuke let out a breath, "I want to pick up a weapon, maybe a sword, so, I was hoping if you could give me some advice, and probably buy one from you."

Kirito nodded, "Sure, but I'm not going for my shop now, I have something else to do, so if you don't mind a detour, you can follow me."

Sasuke nodded, "Sure."

Then Sasuke turned to Sakura, "So, what are you gonna do?"

The pinkette thought a while before she saw Tsunade heading for her office, "Since Hikari is training under Jiraiya and all, I think I'll go ask Hokage-sama for training, what do you think?"

Kirito chuckled, "Well, if you just went to ask her, I doubt she'll agree. Tsunade's prideful about that, but I heard she's planning to train several kunoichi from your generation on Iryo ninjutsu, maybe you can ask her about that."

Sakura nodded and quickly chased after Tsunade as Kirito and Sasuke headed to Kayaba's shop.

Meanwhile, with Hikari and Jiraiya some distance away from Konoha, the blonde asked, "So, Jiraiya-sensei, what are we gonna do first?"

The white haired man grinned, "Patience, we have a long year ahead of us. But to answer your question, we'll be going to the ruins of Uzushiogakure first. Ashina is still there, right?"

Hikari nodded as they headed for the ruins, determined to get stronger for the trials they may face after the trip.

XXX

Done. So that marks the end of Part 1... FINALLY! I was actually hoping to reach the Underworld arc by now, but apparently working towards this was quite time consuming, so eh... Whatever, plus it would help since the 3rd season of SAO is coming soon, so for those who haven't read the Alicization arc, well I suppose it would be better.

So, the next chapter will be the one year timeskip, we'll be officially entering the next stage of the story. So here's a brief overview of what's coming up.

1) Akatsuki trying to gather bijuu arc, mainly focusing on Ichibi, Niibi, Sanbi and Nanabi.

2) Aincrad arc, with a few changes

3) Oberon arc

4) Underworld arc (mixed with Fourth Shinobi War and Kaguya fight... probably the final arc)

I'm still not sure if I should put in the Deathgun arc, since that involves futuristic gun fights and stuff. So yeah, review please.


	32. Chapter 32

Hey, so here's the next chapter, I finished it a bit earlier than expected.

So before we begin, to clear it up, Kirito and the others will be around 18 from this chapter. I mean, they started off at 16 from the point of graduation, and since in cannon it started off at 12, then Naruto came back 3 years later at age of 15, so it would mean part 1 took a year. So since in this story, Hikari left for a year, it would mean they are 18 after the 1 year timeskip.

XXX

A year later, Kirito was in Kayaba's shop. He had decided to use his teacher's shop as a warehouse and his private workshop, occasionally going to his own shop where he had Klein work.

The young man had trained in everything he could find in Kayaba's shop, ranging from spells to new sword skills and several other stuff, which also included using his mark. It was safe to say he was around high Jounin to low Kage level now.

To be honest, he didn't really need to go there much. Klein could manage on his own and the man had learned to forge the basic equipment, though Kirito would personally forge blades and other weapons.

Speaking of weapons, after Hikari left, Sasuke, under the guidance and advice of Kirito, had taken up a chokuto. While they had gotten off the wrong foot, which was an understatement, the two had found them to be quite similar to each other, if you took away Sasuke's thirst for revenge and infatuation for Hikari, which was quite low since the beat down Hikari gave him.

Over the year, Kirito, Sasuke and Kakashi had trained together in kenjutsu, sometimes joining Yugao, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon in their training.

Surprisingly, Kirito and Sasuke had become quite close friends after setting away their past problems over Hikari, which was mostly due to Sasuke himself. You could even say Sasuke was the closest friend Kirito had, for a guy close to his age.

Sasuke had also trained hard under Kakashi over the year. The cyclops had decided to finally get serious and trained the young Uchiha as well as himself. Now, Kakashi was around low Kage level and Sasuke was high Jounin level. The Uchiha had also went to Inoichi regularly under the orders of Tsunade, who wanted to make sure the cursed mark didn't affect him, which luckily it didn't thanks to the Hakke Fuin Hikari placed on him.

Speaking of which, over the year, Tsunade had accepted Sakura as her apprentice and trained her in medical ninjutsu and taijutsu. The Sannin was proud to say that Sakura was at least high Chunnin to low Jounin level, considering the girl was just mid to high gennin level a year ago, that was quite an improvement.

Appearance wise, Kakashi and Kirito both didn't change much. Sasuke had decided to wear a grey shirt with long blue pants. (imagine Shippuden appearance without the purple rope belt) Sakura was still the same, but decided to keep her hair short and wore gloves.

Moving on, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon had all trained hard under Yugao, all motivated to keep up with Hikari, since they knew their sister in all but blood was most likely coming back at low Kage level.

They didn't disappoint. Along with training with their summons, all three were at least high Jounin to low Kage level, to the surprise of Yugao. They had further mastery over their Sage modes and could use them for a week straight without any problems. Their mastery over their respective weapons were also astonishing.

According to Yugao, the three could easily take down a battalion of trained Anbu together. Asuna and Suguha's skill with their swords were probably the best in Konoha and Sinon could snipe a target from 400 meters away.

Appearance wise, the three had under the insistence of Yugao, after she had gotten permission from Tsunade of course, wore Anbu armor, but with customized colours. Asuna wore a whitish grey set of armor, Suguha wore a light green set of armor while Sinon wore light blue.

Along with Yugao's preference in wearing Anbu armor, which Tsunade reluctantly allowed, the team looked like an Anbu team without masks, to the point where Tsunade was tempted to just let them be an official Anbu squad.

Now, all three girls were of Chunnin rank, since they took the Chunnin exams last year. Frankly most of the shinobi of their generation were Chunnin already, with the exception of Shikamaru who got promoted to Jounin recently.

Speaking of rank, a while after Hikari and Jiraiya left, Tsunade had decided to give Kirito a headband and the rank of Jounin. The blacksmith didn't want to, but reluctantly accepted after Tsunade told him that it was to let him join the girls on missions, since she couldn't have him rush off out of the village without permission everytime he got info that the girls were in trouble. So with that, Kirito could now go on missions with the girls freely if he wanted to, but he wasn't an active ninja on the roster since he still had a shop to look after even with Klein there, and whenever he did go on missions, he wore his headback on his left forearm.

Back to the present, as Kirito worked on forging a katana, he heard Klein say, "Oh, Asuna-san, Suguha-san, Sinon-san, Kiri-no-ji's still working at the back, I mean you can go to back if you want."

Kirito sighed and yelled, "Let them in, Klein!"

The blacksmith could hear the elder man sigh as the three girls giggled before they entered the back of his shop to see Kirito hammering away on a blade.

The man greeted, "Hey."

The girls greeted back as Asuna smiled, "You're working hard."

Kirito chuckled as he cooled the blade, "I need to forge some blades occasionally, you know? I can't just always import stuff from Tetsu no Kuni."

Sinon nodded in agreement before she said, "Hikari-chan's coming back soon, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, its been a year already after all. Besides, from Hokage-sama's letters from Jiraiya, they're coming back latest by this weekend."

Asuna smiled, "I wonder how Hikari-chan's gonna be now?"

Suguha giggled, "Probably still the same. I mean, we're talking about Hikari-chan, right? A year wouldn't change her much."

Kirito chuckled, "You might be right."

Meanwhile, some distance outside the village, a girl with blonde hair with red edges and a white haired man were walking towards the village.

Jiraiya asked his god-daughter, "So, Hikari, we're finally back."

The girl grinned, "Yeah."

Over the year, Hikari and Jiraiya spent a month in the ruins of Uzushiogakure before they travelled around the Elemental Nations for the rest of the year, going one full cycle before they ended back in Konoha.

Jiraiya wasn't lying when he said he would get Hikari to be at least low Kage level, because the girl was low Kage level now, without using the Kyuubi's chakra.

Hikari was close to mastering seven tails of the Kyuubi's chakra and the bijuu was impressed, he figured the time when she took on the full nine tails was coming soon. The girl had also started learning the Dragon summons' sage arts, and it was coming around nicely.

Appearance wise, she hadn't changed much, she kept her twin tails, which grew slightly longer, and Hikari kept her previous orange black jacket. Although she did wear her headband around her neck these days.

As the girl and her god-father reached the gates, Jiraiya said, "Well, I'll handle the registration and stuff, you go on ahead. You miss them right?"

Hikari grinned, "Thanks, Jiraiya-sensei."

The man nodded as the girl leaped away. As Jiraiya walked to the counter, Kotetsu chuckled, "She hasn't changed much, has she?"

Jiraiya chuckled, "Oh you have no idea, it may have only been a year, but it feels good to be back."

Izumo and Kotetsu nodded as they dealt with the registration and stuff before Jiraiya left to do research, he didn't need to rush to meet up with Tsunade after all.

Meanwhile, with Hikari, the girl stood on top of one of the taller buildings of Konoha, looking over the village. The Namikaze smiled, it had been a year after all, and travelling around the Elemental Nations wasn't bad, but she still preferred her home with her family.

The girl then extended her senses. As a student of one of the best spies in the Elemental Nations, Hikari had learned to sense and differentiate chakra signatures as well as several stealth techniques, which further enhanced her already impressive stealth skills.

Hikari smiled as she found the signatures she was looking for and just as she thought, they were all in Kirito's shop.

The blonde quickly jumped down from the building and headed for the shop. As she entered the shop, Klein blinked in surprise as he saw her, "Hi-"

He was cut off when she placed a finger to her lips, telling him to stay quiet. The man grinned and nodded and pointed to the back, telling her the others were in the back.

Then to Klein's further confusion, instead of going in, Hikari drew a kunai, more importantly, a kunai with seals engraved on the hilt. Then she threw it into the back.

With Kirito and the other girls, they were still talking, Kirito having finished with cooling the blade and had stopped for a break. (It's around the part at the end of the conversation above)

Then all of a sudden, to their shock, a kunai flew past them. For a brief moment, they thought it was an enemy attack, but before they could react, in a yellow flash, a huge weight slammed into them, sending all of them to the ground and they caught the sight of the familiar yellow hair with red edges.

Then they heard the familiar voice of their final family member, "I'm back!"

Asuna blinked in surprise, "H-hikari-chan?!"

The girl nodded, "Yeap!"

Kirito laughed, "That was the Hiraishin right? You completed it!"

Hikari pulled away and they all stood them before they saw the girl pout, "I haven't seen you in a year and the first thing you say is the Hiraishin?"

Suguha giggled, "Well, since you did use it to come in, you can't blame Kirito-kun for not noticing."

Sinon nodded in agreement as Hikari just smiled in embarrassment. Kirito just shook his head in amusement before he asked, "So, how was the trip?"

At that, Hikari's eyes brightened, "It was awesome! I spent a month in Uzushiogakure with Ashina-jiichan and talked with several of the Uzumaki spirits lingering there, though Jiraiya-sensei kinda freaked out when my ancestors came out at night."

The four just sweatdropped at how nonchalant she seemed about that as Hikari continued, "Apparently there are two other Uzumakis out there, some girl name Uzumaki Karin and some guy Uzumaki Nagato, and turns out this Nagato used to be Jiraiya-sensei's student before my dad."

The four 'oh'd before Sinon asked, "So, does he know anything?"

Hikari sighed as she shook her head and leaned on the wall, "Sadly no, he lost contact with them a while before I was born, but he did say he'd search for him."

Asuna nodded and asked, "I see, so what else happened?"

Hikari nodded as her smile returned, "Well, we went around the continent for the rest of the year, I met some of my fellow Jinchurikii too, we all know Gaara is the Ichibi's Jinchurikii, the Niibi's Jinchurikii is a woman named Nii Yugito from Kumo, the Hachibi's Jinchurikii is called Kirabi, he's also from Kumo, and we also met the Nanabi's Jinchurikii, a girl our age named Fuu."

Sinon nodded, "I see, so, how was it?"

Hikari grinned, "It was fun to meet them, but then it was quite short actually, I mean we met Fuu by chance who was on a mission, and we met Yugito-san and Bee-san when we went to Kumogakure."

Asuna blinked, "You went to Kumogakure?"

Hikari nodded, "Yeah, Jiraiya-sensei said he had to meet an informant there, and we met them along with the Raikage there."

Kirito blinked, "The Raikage?"

It wasn't a secret the Raikage and the Yondaime Hokage had somewhat of a rivalry on for being the fastest shinobi, so he might have a grudge against Hikari's father.

But apparently rumors weren't always right as Hikari smiled and nodded, "Yeah, Raikage-sama is a bit weird, definitely a muscle idiot, but he's actually quite a good guy."

The four just smiled awkwardly at the weird description of the Raikage, but then again, this was Hikari they were looking at.

Hikari then thought aloud, "What else did we do? Uzushiogakure, Kumogakure, we did stop by in Sunagakure for a while and stayed with Gaara and his siblings, then we went to several villages around the continent... That's about it, I guess..."

Suguha blinked, "Gaara?"

Hikari nodded, "Yeah, we went there for a while. Turns out Sunagakure is quite nice, a bit hot, but still nice. So we stayed with them for a few weeks or so and went on several missions with them."

Then the girl pouted and started whining, "But... He became THE FIFTH KAZEKAGE! That's so not fair!"

The others just sweatdropped, not knowing how to respond. Hikari then glared at them, "What's with those expressions?! Shouldn't you all be like comforting me?!"

Kirito chuckled and pulled her into a hug, "Okay okay, you'll be Hokage one day, don't worry about it much."

Hikari smiled and nodded, "Yeah."

As they hugged, Suguha spoke to Asuna and Sinon, "Hey, she just said all that just so he'd hug her, right?"

Sinon nodded in agreement, "Obviously."

Asuna just smiled awkwardly, "Well, I suppose since it's been a while since we all saw her, I guess we can just let it go."

Then before they could continue, they were interrupted by a loud growl. Kirito blinked and pulled away from Hikari and stared at her, "That... was you, right?"

The girl blushed in embarrassment, "Well, since we were coming back to Konoha, I was thinking eating ramen and decided not to eat in the morning."

The others just sighed and Kirito said, "Well, I guess it can't be helped, come on, Klein can manage on his own, I just got a new recipe from Teuchi-jiisan a while ago, so we can try that."

Hikari beamed as the other girls sighed before they headed back to the compound.

A while later, with Hikari having her fill of ramen, Suguha said to Asuna and Sinon, "Hey, I've been wondering, where the hell does she put all that ramen?"

Asuna smiled, "Well, I think she makes it up by training."

Sinon chuckled as she shook her head, "I think we're better off not knowing, some things are better off not knowing."

Hikari pouted and glared at them, "Hey, I can hear you, ya know?"

Everyone just laughed before they felt the seal on the door alert them of visitors. Asuna stood up and headed for the door, "I'll get it."

The girl opened the door and saw Kakashi standing there. Asuna greeted, "Kakashi-sensei."

The cyclops eye-smiled, "Hey, so Hikari is back, right?"

Asuna nodded, "Yes."

Kakashi nodded, "Hokage-sama wants all of you to gather at Training Ground 7 in half an hour, including Kirito. Just came here to tell you that."

Asuna nodded before she asked, "Do you wanna come in?"

Kakashi chuckled and shook his head, "Nah, I'll see you guys later."

Asuna nodded as the cyclops left, most probably to read his smut. Then she closed the door and went back to the others.

Sinon asked, "So, who was it?"

Asuna replied, "Kakashi-sensei. Apparently Hokage-sama wants us to be at Training Ground 7 in half an hour."

Suguha asked, "Did he say why?"

The auburn haired girl shook her head, "Nope, we'll just find out when we get there."

Half an hour later, Hikari, Kirito, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon all arrived at Training Ground 7 to see Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Shizune and Tsunade waiting for them.

Sakura waved, "Hey!"

Hikari grinned, "Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Tsunade-baachan, Shizune-neechan, hey, you too, Sasuke."

Tsunade nodded to her before she grew a tick mark, "So, where were you? You were supposed to report to me first thing when you came back."

Hikari laughed nervously, "Well, Jiraiya-sensei said he'd take care of it, so he told me to do whatever I wanted to until further notice."

The blonde Hokage nodded and turned to stare at Jiraiya, "Is that so?"

As the Hokage started to tell the man off, Sasuke spoke, "Its been a year, Hikari, I hope you've gotten stronger."

Hikari grinned, "That's my line, I hope you haven't wasted your time brooding in your room."

Sakura smiled, "Actually he's stopped doing that since you left, Sasuke-kun trained his ass off after that."

Kirito chuckled, "Probably due to the ass kicking she gave him on that mission a year ago."

Sasuke glared at the blacksmith for reminding him, "I got careless, that's all."

Sinon laughed, "Sure, tell yourself that."

Sasuke just sighed while Kakashi patted his shoulder, "Well, just take it like a man for now and show them with your actions later."

Asuna then asked, "By the way, why are we all here?"

Shizune nodded and explained, "You see, we've kept track of every ninja's progress in our ranks, to make sure the members of each team can work well together. But since Hikari has been gone for a year, regardless of Jiraiya-sama's reports, we still need to make sure Team 7 can work efficiently."

Sasuke nodded, "I see, but how are we going to do that?"

Jiraiya, having survived and recovered from Tsunade's rage, said, "That's easy, you'll be doing two exercises today. The first one should be familiar to you, Kakashi's gonna be taking care of that. The second one will be having team 7 against team 11, but since Yugao is on leave today, we'll have Kirito stand in for her as a member of team 11."

Hikari nodded, "So a warm up before we go on missions."

Tsunade nodded, "Exactly."

Hikari nodded before she asked, "So, when do we begin?"

Kakashi eye-smiled, "I thought you'd never ask."

Shizune spoke up, "Okay, we'll stand back and leave team 7 alone."

Tsunade then said, "And just to clear this up, this whole exercise is just to see if team 7, or in this case team Kakashi, can work effectively or not. And before you two say anything, Sakura, Sasuke, sometimes the enemy will have information on you, while you know nothing about them, so this also serves as training, not that you know nothing about them."

Sasuke just smirked, "I wasn't gonna say anything."

Sakura nodded, "Same here, Tsunade-sama."

The Hokage smirked, "Good, now carry on."

Kakashi nodded, "Okay, you remember our first test, right?"

Hikari grinned, "Of course, we totally aced it."

Kakashi eye-smiled, "Indeed you did, and I'm pretty sure its thanks to a certain blacksmith we all know."

The cyclops stared at Kirito who just looked away grinning. The man sighed and continued, "Anyways, today we'll be doing something similar."

Kakashi brought out a pair of familiar bells, "But unlike last time, all you need to do, is take the bells off of me."

Hikari and Sakura grinned while Sasuke smirked, the Uchiha said, "Bring it."

The man chuckled and nodded to Shizune who took out a timer. The woman then said, "So, you all have one hour, your time starts... Now."

The medic started the timer, and immediately Kakashi vanished from sight, more specifically, he poofed out of existence, showing that he was a Kage Bunshin all the time.

The three grinned at each other before Hikari extended her senses to look for the man. Sasuke and Sakura did the same, though they weren't as skilled as Hikari was. Regardless though, all three quickly found where their wayward teacher was.

Sakura spoke, grinning at Hikari, "Hikari..."

The pinkette raised her fist and Hikari grinned as she caught on, "Oh, she taught you that?"

Sakura nodded as the two girls raised their fists and Sasuke panickedly jumped away. Then the two girls slammed their fists on the ground, creating a massive crater as Kakashi could be seen jumping out of the ground.

Sasuke and Kakashi landed and the Uchiha yelled, "Oi! A warning before you two decide to smash the ground please!"

Sakura and Hikari just laughed as Kakashi sighed, "Seriously, we have two mini-Tsunades here in the team. Well, this might be interesting."

Meanwhile on the sidelines, Kirito, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha smiled forcedfully seeing the girl they all loved smash through the ground. Jiraiya and Shizune didn't say anything as they watched while Tsunade smiled proudly, "To think they have mastered my technique to that level..."

Back to the battle, as Kakashi was forced out of his hiding spot, the three members of team 7 immediately shot forward at him.

Sasuke drew his chokuto and spun, holding it in reverse grip as he came down with a slash from the right. Sakura rushed to the left and sent a ground shattering punch while Hikari jumped up and conjured a dozen chains, swinging them down from the front.

Kakashi grinned under his mask as he drew his White Light Chakra Saber and parried Sasuke's slash before he jumped up to dodge both Hikari and Sakura's attacks. The man thought, 'They've come a long way.'

The cyclops landed and went through a set of handseals, "Katon: Goryuka no Jutsu!"

Sasuke immediately went through a similar set of seals, "Katon: Karyu Endan!"

The two dragon shaped flames slammed into each other, causing a huge explosion. Then to Kakashi's surprise, Hikari burst through the flames with a Rasengan in her hand, but unlike a normal Rasengan, this had what looked like wind blades on the sides.

The girl yelled, "Fuuton: Rasengan!"

Kakashi's eyes widened as he quickly jumped away to dodge the attack. As he landed, he asked, "You completed it?"

Hikari skidded to a stop and replied, "Kinda, I completed the part in adding elemental chakra to it, but it's not really complete yet."

Kakashi nodded, "I see."

Hikari then smirked, "But that's not all I finished."

Kakashi was slightly confused until she threw a dozen kunai at him. On instinct, the man easily dodged the projectiles, but then his eyes widened as he noticed the seals engraved on the kunai.

At that moment, the flames cleared out, giving everyone a clear view of what was happening, and aside from Kirito, Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and Jiraiya, who all already knew it, the others had surprised faces as they only knew one thing that could require seals engraved on a kunai.

Jiraiya smirked, "Its time for the return of the Yellow Flash."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Hikari vanished in a yellow flash, reappearing beside Kakashi. Then for the next ten seconds, Kakashi received a reminder of the beating Minato gave him once in a spar using the Hiraishin.

After a full ten seconds of brutal beating from Hikari, the man panted as he finally got away, bruised all over. Kakashi laughed painfully, "Seriously, Hikari, you really are your father's daughter."

Hikari smiled before she raised a pair of familiar bells, "Thanks, so, we win, right?"

Kakashi eye-smiled, "I wouldn't be so sure."

Hikari blinked, "Eh?"

Then all of a sudden, the bells in her hands vanished, reappearing by Kakashi's belt. The cyclops eye-smiled, "You've done quite well, but seeing as I cannot beat you all on a straight fight, well, I'll see you guys later."

The man then vanished via Shunshin. Sasuke sighed, "There he goes."

Sakura nodded before she turned to Hikari, "By the way, just now, you mastered the Hiraishin no Jutsu?"

Hikari nodded, "Not exactly mastered, but its combat ready."

Sasuke smirked, "Hmph, as expected of you, come on, we need to find Kakashi."

Hikari grinned, "Actually, we don't need to."

Sasuke and Sakura both blinked in confusion before the blonde explained.

Meanwhile, with Kakashi, the man appeared somewhere in the trees, "Wow, I know Jiraiya-sama said he'd get her to at least low Kage level, but that's just too much. But then again, I wasn't using my Sharingan, so whatever. I need to recover and think of plans first."

The man leaned against a tree to catch his breath. Kakashi thought, 'They've come a long way, all of them. If someone told me my students would kick my ass in two years after they become Gennin, I'd laughed it off, but apparently not.'

Kakashi's breath steadied and he thought, 'Okay, I'm good to go. Thank god for the seal I asked from Jiraiya-sama, but knowing Hikari, it'll be only a matter of time until they get the bell. Well, not like they weren't gonna get it anyways.'

Just as he was about to move, in a yellow flash, Hikari appeared in front of him, with Sakura and Sasuke behind him, all three of them surrounding him. Kakashi's eye widened, 'When did she?!'

Hikari grinned and her eyes glanced at the seal on his forearm, then only did Kakashi notice the Hiraishin seal on his arm.

Then before Kakashi could act, Sakura slammed her fist into the ground, trying to stop Kakashi from moving. But the man wasn't famous for nothing. Kakashi quickly jumped up and avoided the attack, only to have Sasuke appear in front of him, chokuto drawn and ready to slice him apart.

Kakashi quickly brought up his Chakra saber and clashed blades with his only male student. As he kicked Sasuke away, Kakashi felt the familiar feeling of chains wrapping around his waist, and he cursed.

Then Hikari pulled, pulling Kakashi towards the ground before she kneed him in the back. The man tried to free himself, but before he could get far, Hikari swung him towards Sakura, and before the man could even pull up his headband or substitute, the pinkette's fist met his face and everything went black.

A while later, the others saw Hikari, Sakura and Sasuke, with a slug summon carrying Kakashi while healing him. Jiraiya chuckled, "Well, I suppose that shows us that they can work well as a team, plus since Kakashi is out, I guess we won't need the second fight."

Tsunade sighed and nodded, "It may seem so. Sorry for calling you guys over for nothing."

Asuna shook her head, "It's okay, we got to see how much Hikari-chan improved."

Kirito, Suguha and Sinon all agreed.

Tsunade nodded, "Good to know then."

Then team 7 reached them, with Sasuke holding the bells, "So, now what? Kakashi's out."

Jiraiya grinned, "Take a rest, we've got what we needed, you all showed us you can still work as a team, so that's enough."

Tsunade nodded, "And just to tell you, since team numbers are assigned to Gennin teams only, so you'll be officially known as Team Kakashi, just as team 11 will be known as team Yugao, after she comes back of course."

The shinobi in front of them just nodded before they headed back to their homes.

XXX

Done. Review please. So the next chapter or so will be the start of the 'Kazekage Rescue' arc. So yeah, look forward to the next chapter.


	33. Chapter 33

Hey, so **Guest** , when the mission started, only Hikari got promoted. The others remained Gennin until they retook the exam. Since Tsunade has seen Hikari fight and know her well enought to know she can be promoted.

XXX

The next morning, Kirito opened his eyes and felt a weight on his left shoulder. The swordsman turned and saw the familiar chesnut-brown hair.

Kirito blinked, he was pretty sure he went to sleep alone last night. Over the year, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha would sometimes sneak into his bed since Hikari would do that before she left.

The man also suspected that the girls had somewhat of an agreement that they would take turns, but didn't bring it up since he enjoyed their presence.

Kirito stared at the peaceful face of Asuna as she breathed quietly. The young man enjoyed times like this, since they were always busy, the girls with their missions and him with his shop, and now missions ever since Tsunade gave him his headband.

Kirito turned and looked at the clock by his nightstand and saw that he had an hour before he had to meet Sasuke for training.

During the past year, after Sasuke picked up using his chokuto, the two swordsmen would train together. To Sasuke, Kirito was the closest thing he had to a best friend. Kiba and Shino were a bit wary of him, Shikamaru and Chouji both were too lazy, Lee was just plain weird and Neji, well, the two never saw eye to eye anyways. The other guys in the village either hated him or just didn't bother to befriend him.

To Kirito, he had quite a number of male friends. He was fine with Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Lee and Neji, but they were all busy most of the time, other than that, his male friends were mostly older men like Klein and Agil. However, Sasuke was just like him, in a way. They both had a certain drive to get stronger, most of the guys in the village didn't like them for certain reasons, and they trained at the same level, though Kirito started off being the stronger one.

The blacksmith turned and gently nudged Asuna, "Hey."

The girl groaned and whined, "Five more minutes, Kirito-kun..."

Kirito chuckled and nudged her again, "Asuna-chan, wake up, I need to get ready for training."

The girl opened her eyes and pouted, "Fine..."

She groggily sat up and rubbed her eyes, "Why did Hokage-sama give you that headband? Ever since she gave you that headband, you always wake up early to train. You even leave most of the work in the shop to Klein-san."

Kirito laughed slightly, "Well, I have to keep up with you girls. Plus, Klein can forge decent weapons now, besides, I don't get as many custom orders as I did before, and I don't pay Klein to do nothing."

Asuna sighed and nodded, "Fine."

Kirito chuckled, "Come on, I'll prepare breakfast."

The girl nodded before they went to clean up and Kirito quickly prepared breakfast.

Soon, after Kirito prepared the food, which consisted of rice, miso soup and eggs, the blacksmith quickly ate his fill and went training. Unfortunately, none of the other girls were awake yet, so only Asuna ate with Kirito.

A while after Kirito left, Suguha, Sinon and Hikari woke up. The blonde rubbed her eyes as she yawned, "Morning..."

Asuna smiled, "Good morning."

Sinon and Suguha both nodded and replied, "Good morning..."

Asuna then said, "Go wash up, breakfast is ready."

The three girls nodded and quickly went to clean up before they sat down at the table.

As they ate, Sinon asked, "So, where's Kirito-kun?"

Asuna replied, "He already went out to train with Sasuke."

Hikari blinked, "Did you just say Sasuke?"

Asuna nodded, "Yeah, well, a lot changed last year, those two are good friends now."

Suguha nodded smiling, "You can say Sasuke's Kirito-kun's best male friend."

Hikari smiled awkwardly, "I never thought I'd hear Sasuke's name in the same sentence with the word 'friend', unless its talking about him having none. A lot can change in a year. "

Sinon just shook her head, "Well, I suppose it might have something to do with you beating him up a year ago. Plus, sealing up the cursed mark helped."

Hikari nodded, "I guess you're right."

Suguha then said, "Hey, if we don't hurry, the food's gonna get cold."

The girls quickly realized that and went back to eating, Asuna giggling as she shook her head at the sight.

Meanwhile, Kirito reached the training grounds to see Sasuke doing warmups alone. The Uchiha spotted him and greeted, "Hey, Kirito."

Kirito waved, "Hey, Sasuke. You alone?"

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah, Kakashi said he'd skip today's training, something about the latest volume released or something."

Kirito sighed as he started to do the warmups, "Icha-icha no doubt. Seriously, I have no idea why he'd buy them from the stores when he can just ask Jiraiya to send him a copy everytime a new volume releases."

Sasuke chuckled, "Don't tell him that, it might just make it worse."

Kirito just laughed as they quickly finished the warmups. After that, the two swordsmen stood in front of each other, Sasuke holding his chokuto while Kirito held his two blades. Then the two charged and they clashed blades.

A while later, Kirito and Sasuke both laid on the grass. The Uchiha laughed, "Your Acceleration really is a life hack!"

Kirito chuckled, "You're one to talk, with your Sharingan, and don't get me started with your Mangekyou Sharingan."

Sasuke chuckled, "I guess everyone has their own special abilities."

Kirito nodded before he asked, "Speaking of which, you figured out the Mangekyou's abilities yet?"

In the previous year, during one of their sparring sessions with Kakashi, the two Sharingan users discovered that they both had Mangekyou Sharingan. They figured Kakashi probably activated it on his mission where he killed Rin, while Sasuke probably had it activated since he saw his family killed in front of him, but never did discover it since he was too young.

Sasuke sighed, "Well, Kakashi seems to be able to send stuff to some pocket dimension, something called Kamui. I can't do it, but I can summon these black flames, no idea what they do though."

Kirito nodded, "I see. Well, it'll reveal itself sooner or later."

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah, I just need to focus on getting stronger now."

Kirito nodded before he asked, "By the way, how's it going?"

Sasuke blinked, "What do you mean?"

Kirito said, "With Sakura, you know most of your fangirls now are all civilians. Hell, even Ino has moved on. But Sakura hasn't change much, well, I mean she's gotten rid of her fangirl tendencies, but she still likes you, hell, I'd even go as far as to say she loves you. "

Sasuke sighed, "I'm confused, seriously."

The Uchiha was seriously confused, he didn't know how to deal with Sakura. In the past, when she was a fangirl, all Sasuke needed to do was ignore her. But after she started learning under Tsunade, the Sannin had literally beat the fangirl out of her. And if Sasuke was to be honest, he didn't mind Sakura's presence, not anymore, but he didn't know if he liked her or not.

Kirito nodded, "I see, well, don't keep her waiting, girls will only wait for so long."

Sasuke nodded before they continued training.

Meanwhile, in an unknown location, ten figures, or rather silhouettes, stood on ten platforms, a giant face behind them. The man in the middle, with purple eyes with swirls, spoke, "So, we'll be officially starting to collect the bijuu. Deidara, Sasori, you two go collect the Ichibi."

Two figures nodded, one of them sighed, "Whatever..."

The first man nodded, "When they return with the Jinchurikii, I'll decide who goes for the Niibi after we extract the Ichibi."

The man then looked around, looking for any objections. Seeing none, he nodded, "Good. Itachi, Kisame, I'll need your chakra for the Shoten no Jutsu, if Zetsu's intel is correct, they will most likely seek help from Konoha."

The two Akatsuki members nodded and let the chakra flow to the man before the man nodded, "Good, you're all dismissed then."

In that instant, all of the silhouettes vanished, and the huge statue sunk into the ground.

The next day, back in Konoha, Tsunade was in her office facing a huge stack of completed paper worm. The woman let out a breath of relief, "Ah... Finally..."

As she carefully placed everything in a neat stack, she sat down, ready to enjoy her break as she brought out a bottle of sake, right when the office door slammed open, and unfortunately, at the same time causing all of the paper work to fly off her table and her bottle of sake to pour over quite a number of the completed paper work.

The only emotion in Tsunade's face was despair as all her hard work, the work she had spent the whole night to finish, all went to waste in one short moment. The man who had opened the door then realized his mistake, why Shizune told him to wait, but he had felt that it was too urgent and required immediate attention. Now he regretted it.

The Hokage turned her despairing yet furious gaze to the not-so-poor man, "You better have a very good reason for doing that, or I swear to all the gods and the previous Hokages in existence that I will castrate you and smack your face all the way to the next century."

The man gulped before he quickly said, "The Kazekage has been captured by the Akatsuki!"

Tsunade snapped out her funk and spoke, "Are you serious?"

The man nodded before Tsunade yelled, "Anbu! Get me team Kakashi and team Yugao NOW!"

The sound of wind swirling could be heard as the Anbu went to get the two teams.

In less than five minutes, the two teams arrived, Tsunade's Anbu going back to his hiding spot. The two teams of shinobi stood at attention as Tsunade spoke, "A few moments ago, I received information that the Kazekage has been captured by the Akatsuki. We all know who Gaara is, so I'll make this short. Your mission is to help retrieve the Kazekage, its an emergency, so leave immediately."

The two teams didn't object or say anything as they quickly left the office. Tsunade let out a breath as she slumped onto her chair, "I sure hope I'm not sending Hikari to the Akatsuki with this."

Jiraiya's voice came to her from the back, "Don't worry. If she goes all out, along with all of them, then the Akatsuki won't even be able to touch her. Have faith in them."

The Hokage just nodded as she made a few Shadow clones to deal with the ruined paperwork.

A while later, the two teams were rushing for Sunagakure. They had told Kirito about the mission, and while the blacksmith was less than eager to let Hikari go, since she was one of the Akatsuki's targets, he knew the girl, along with the three other girls, were all more than capable with keeping each other safe. So he just let it go.

Now, as the two teams leaped through the trees, Yugao said, "To think they're moving already."

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah, but then, I guess its really true, Jiraiya-sama's intel."

Hikari sighed, "And they're going for Gaara first, well, make sense since he has the Ichibi."

Asuna nodded, "True, it'd make sense to go according to the number of tails."

In Hikari's seal, the Kyuubi narrowed eyes as he thought, 'But the tails don't determine our strength, it just so happened that our power levels went in that order. But if they're going by tails... No, it should still be sealed in the moon.'

The Kyuubi decided to file it off for later, saving it until Hikari gains control over all his tails.

Back outside, the two teams quickly exited the forests and sped through the desert without much difficulty, which wasn't a strange thing, with a team consisting of girls who were essentially a skilled Anbu squad and another team capable of destroying an army.

Soon, they arrived at the border of Sunagakure and saw Temari already waiting for them. The fan user was obviously worried and stressed out, and no one could blame her since it was her brother who got captured.

Temari spoke tiredly, "Hey, thanks for coming on such a short notice."

Hikari nodded, "Of course, so, can you tell us about the ones who got Gaara?"

Temari nodded, "Yeah, we'll talk in the office."

No one disagreed. It was extremely hot out at the desert, so it wasn't exactly a preferred choice for a meeting.

As Temari led the two teams of Konoha shinobi towards the Kazekage tower, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon, who'd never been to Sunagakure, found that structure-wise, the place was similar to Konoha, if you took away the heat and the sandy colour of the buildings anyways.

Soon, they reached the office and Temari opened the door to reveal two elderly people, one old woman and old man, waiting for them. As soon as they entered, the old woman's eyes widened as she hissed, "Hatake Sakumo!"

The woman charged Kakashi, drawing a kunai and swinging it at the man. But before she could do anything, a dozen chains wrapped around the woman and held her in place.

Hikari said calmly, "Chiyo-san, what are you doing?"

The woman paled at that voice and turned to see Hikari staring at her, not amused. During Hikari's previous visit to Sunagkure, she had met Chiyo when she was with the Sand siblings.

The Uzumaki had made her opinions regarding the seal Chiyo put on Gaara, and the old woman had developed a healthy amount of respect and fear for the young lady.

Ebizo, Temari, Gaara and Kankuro would have found the scene hilarious, but they were all scared shitless by the amount of killing intent Hikari exerted.

Back to the present, Chiyo replied nervously, "He is Hatake Sakumo(?)"

Ebizo sighed, "No, he isn't Konoha's White Fang, a relative maybe."

Chiyo blinked before she realised Kakashi wasn't his father. The old lady laughed embarrassedly, "Oh, my bad... Tee hee..."

The others just sweatdropped at her response before Ebizo spoke, "Thank you for coming on such a short notice."

The Konoha ninja nodded before Temari asked the old woman, "Chiyo-sama, how is Kankuro?"

The old lady sighed and shook her head, "I've never seen anything like it. We'd need someone like Tsunade if we even want a chance at saving him, as much as I hate to admit."

Temari nodded somberly. Those words drew Sakura's attention, the pinkette asked, "What's wrong?"

Temari looked at her, "When Gaara was taken, Kankuro chased after the two Akatsuki members before we could send a squad. When the squad found Kankuro, he was poisoned, and we had Chiyo-sama, whose our best medic, look at him."

Hikari huffed, "That's not saying a lot since its this old hag we're talking about."

Asuna asked, a bit confused, the feeling shared by most of the Konoha ninja, "I'm confused, Hikari-chan, what do you mean?"

Hikari turned and said, "You remember Gaara's old seal that held the Ichibi back? This old hag is the one who did it, and she did a bad job. No that would just insult the word bad..."

As the girl thought of another word, Sakura sighed and looked at Chiyo, "Let me look at him."

Chiyo stared at Sakura and said sceptically, "You?"

Sakura nodded, "Tsunade-sama is my teacher, I may be able to help her. Besides, if what Hikari says is correct, then maybe you're not good enough."

Chiyo just grumbled as Ebizo nodded, "Of course, having someone else looking at his condition may help. Sister, bring her to look at Kankuro, please."

The old lady sighed and nodded as she lead the young medic to the room where Kankuro was. Kakashi then looked at Ebizo, "So, can you tell us who took the Kazekage?"

Temari answered, "Deidara, the Mad Bomber, and Sasori of the Red Sands. They attacked us at night, trying to catch us off guard, Gaara engaged them and he got captured."

Yugao asked, "Do you know where they went?"

Sinon nodded, "Yeah, if we have a scent, my cats can track them."

Kakashi's reflex was to argue that his dogs would do better, but he quickly reigned it in since the situation was dire.

Temari shook her head, "We don't have anything that'd link us to those two, but if we follow Gaara's scent, we can catch up to them."

Suguha nodded, "Makes sense."

Hikari grinned, "Then what are we waiting for?"

Sasuke sighed, "Sakura's not done yet, once she gets back, I suppose we'll move out."

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah, stay calm, Hikari. Rushing off now won't do anything."

The blonde sighed before Sinon summoned several cats and Kakashi summoned his eight dogs. Sinon and Kakashi stared at each other for a while before they nodded.

Kakashi looked at Temari, "You have anything with Gaara's scent?"

Meanwhile, in Kankuro's ward, Sakura and Chiyo entered the room to see the man on the bed, obviously in pain. Sakura thought, 'Huh, this is the first time seeing him without makeup. Well, he's definitely Gaara's brother.'

The young woman nodded to herself, "Okay, I'll run a diagnosis first, I know you've done it, but I just wanna make sure."

Chiyo nodded, it was normal to ignore other people's work and just redo it yourself, plus she was quite curious, since it wasn't every day Tsunade took on an apprentice.

Sakura activated the Shosen jutsu and let her chakra flow into Kankuro's body. As soon as she did that, she found the poison. Sakura couldn't blame them for being unable to identify it, according to Tsunade, the poison was really hard to make and hard to detect, plus the ingredients needed were also incredibly rare.

Tsunade only knew about it because it was one of the poisons she herself had to face during a surgery. Fortunately for Kankuro, the current Hokage had made Sakura learn about it, and now Sakura could extract it from the man.

Carefully pinpointing the exact locations of the poison, Sakura made a chakra scalpel and sliced open Kankuro's skin. Then, using her chakra, she slowly drew out most of the poison, forming a bubble of chakra which contained the poison.

The process took 5 minutes, and after containing the poison, Sakura let out a breath, "Okay, I've removed most of the poison, now we just need an antidote to clear it off."

She turned and saw Chiyo's astonished face. The old woman asked, "W-what was that?"

Sakura blinked, "Hmm? You mean the poison?"

Chiyo quickly shook her head and grabbed Sakura's shoulders, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! How did you extract the toxin?"

The pinkette blinked, "Erm, that's the basic poison extraction technique?"

Chiyo gaped, "What? I've never heard of it!"

Sakura smiled forcedfully, if she remembered correctly, and she did, Tsunade had said that jutsu was one of basic medical ninjutsu that every medic needed to know. Maybe Hikari wasn't wrong when she mentioned about Chiyo's incompetence.

The pinkette spoke calmly, "It's something Tsunade-sama taught me. But anyways, I need several herbs to make an antidote, do you have any places that have herbs?"

Chiyo calmed down and asked, "What do you need?"

Sakura grabbed a pen and paper and scribbled several names and gave them to Chiyo, and as soon as the woman saw them, her eyes widened in surprise. The woman nodded, "Yes, we have these. I'll go get them for you."

In a moment, Chiyo returned with the herbs Sakura needed and the young woman went to work. In less than five minutes, Sakura had finished the antidotes, since the antidote was actually simple to make, you just needed to know what you needed.

As soon as she finished, Sakura took a bowl of the antidote and walked to Kankuro. The pinkette nodded to the nurses and they quickly helped pull Kankuro to an upright position.

The brother of the Kazekage weakly opened his eyes and saw Sakura, "S-sakura?"

The young woman nodded, "Hey, I've got the antidote, drink it."

She placed the bowl to his lips and Kankuro quickly downed the bowl of medicine. As soon as he finished, Sakura took the bowl away as he commented, "Damn, its bitter."

The Konoha medic chuckled, "Of course."

Kankuro cleared his throat as the antidote did its work, "Thanks, Sakura."

The medic grinned, "Sure, so, what happened?"

Kankuro frowned as he remembered what happened, "Sasori, he caught me off guard before I could use all my puppets, and I let them get away."

Sakura nodded, "I'll get the others, you stay put."

The man nodded before Sakura quickly exited the room to get the others from the office. As soon as the woman left, Chiyo stared at Kankuro, after meeting Hikari, and after her little lesson, the old woman had come to see her mistakes, and she knew very well she had wronged the three siblings.

A year ago, if anyone told her to apologise, Chiyo would have ignored them, or plain out retort with a rude comment. But apparently meeting the Kyuubi Jinchurikii changed her a lot, especially when she was an Uzumaki.

Chiyo spoke, "Kankuro, I am sorry, for sealing the Ichibi into your brother."

The man blinked in shock, "Chiyo-sama?"

The old woman chuckled, "I am getting old, after meeting that little fiery blonde, that daughter of Namikaze, well, you know what happened. But I never did apologize for doing that to you and your siblings. Now because of my grandson, Gaara is captured, and you're injured. If that girl didn't come, you would be dead."

Kankuro nodded, "I know."

Chiyo sighed, "Rest, boy, leave retrieving Gaara to the Konoha ninja."

The man just nodded before the door opened as the Konoha ninja, Ebizo and Temari entered the room.

Kankuro greeted, "Hey."

Temari quickly went to his side, "Are you okay, Kankuro?"

The man grinned at his sister, "I'm fine now."

Sakura spoke, "I've completely removed the poison, all he needs now is rest."

Temari nodded, "Thanks, Sakura."

Kakashi then spoke, "So, what did you get from them?"

Kankuro nodded, "They were heading North, probably for Kiba no Kuni."

Just as he said that, a cat and a dog (Pakkun), appeared in the room, both glaring at each other.

The cat said, "Sinon-sama, we've checked the entire area where the Kazekage's scent lingered. It seems the trail leads to a forest right outside Kaze no Kuni."

Pakkun nodded, "Yeah, we're ready to go."

Sinon nodded, "Thanks, Haru."

Kakashi also nodded at Pakkun, "Good job, Pakkun."

Yugao looked at the others, "Then we better move quick."

Before they could move though, Kankuro spoke, "Wait, Temari, my Karasu, I managed to tear off a piece of their clothing, I know you can use Gaara's scent to track them, but just in case."

Temari nodded and quickly went to get the cloth from Kankuro's puppets. Kakashi looked at the man, impressed, "Even when you lost, you still turned things in your favour, like a true Sand ninja."

Kankuro chuckled, "Well, I _am_ a sand ninja after all. Not as much as Gaara is, but still one."

The group laughed a bit at the pun before Kankuro looked at Hikari, "Hikari, I know I'm asking a lot, but please, help my brother again."

The girl stared at him before she nodded, "Of course, Kankuro, Gaara is also like a brother to me after all."

Kankuro nodded his thanks before the group left the room. As soon as they left, Kankuro sighed and laid on his bed.

Then he noticed the absence of one old lady, "Huh? Where's Chiyo-sama?"

Ebizo blinked, "Hmm, I was sure she was standing beside me a while ago."

Meanwhile, in a room, Chiyo opened a box, revealing a box that had the kanji for 'white'. The old woman thought, 'Its time I put an end to this, don't you think, my cute grandson?'

The old woman took the scroll and was about to leave when another scroll in the box caught her attention. The elder of Sunagakure thought a while before she grabbed the scroll and left the room.

A while later, as the group of Konoha shinobi, along with Temari prepared to leave the village, Chiyo's voice stopped them, "Wait."

They turned to see the old woman. Temari asked, "Chiyo-sama?"

The old lady looked at the sister of the Kazekage, "Temari, stay in the village. If by chance anyone attacks the village, we'll need you here, I'll go in your place to retrieve Gaara."

Temari was about to protest before Chiyo spoke again, "Besides, its time I saw my cute grandson. And don't treat me like an antique, I can still move and fight."

The two stared at each other before Temari sighed and nodded, "Fine."

Chiyo nodded, "Good. Now, let's move. Its time to pay my cute little grandson a visit."

XXX

Done. So, this is the official start of the Kazekage Rescue Arc, or in my terms, the 'Ichibi arc'. Review please. Until the next chapter.


	34. Chapter 34

Hey. **NinjaFang1331** , thanks for all your reviews man.

By the way, SEASON 3 IS AWESOME! Just 2 episodes in, and I'm hooked. I mean I read the light novels already, but man the anime really does the original novels justice. The graphics alone are awesome, better than the previous seasons. I'm really looking forward to the actual fight scenes.

On a side note, unless they do breaks after each subseason, this story probably won't reach the Underworld arc before the actual season 3 ends.

So yeah, let's start with the new chapter.

XXX

As the team of shinobi headed out of Sunagakure, meanwhile, in a cave, Deidara and Sasori threw Gaara's unconscious body onto the floor.

In an instant, a silhouette with the Rinnegan appeared, "Good job, Deidara, Sasori."

The man then turned and slammed his palms onto the ground, summoning the huge statue that they were standing on during their previous meeting.

As the statue rose from the ground, the man yelled, "Akatsuki! Assemble!"

Immediately, several more silhouettes appeared on the fingers of the statue as Deidara and Sasori leaped onto their platforms. The man spoke, "We will now begin the sealing ritual, a reminder, this will take three hours, Itachi, Kisame, use the dummies to hold the Konoha shinobi back."

The two nodded before the man clapped his arms together, "Fuinjutsu: Genryu Kyuufuujin!"

Immediately, nine dragon heads shot out from the statue's eyes and engulfed Gaara as the young Kazekage started to roar in pain.

(Now I know the jutsu actually takes 3 days, but here, it will only take 3 hours for the Ichibi, but the time will gradually increase by an hour for each of the other bijuu according the tails.)

Meanwhile, the two teams of Konoha shinobi along with Chiyo had just exited the desert and were moving into the forests.

As they were about to leap onto the trees, a figure caught their attention. The figure in a cocky tone, "Oi oi, where are you lot going?"

The two teams immediately got on guard seeing the tell tale cloak with red clouds. The man took off his straw hat and threw it away, revealing the face of one Hoshigaki Kisame.

The shark man grinned, "Its been a while, little Uchiha, Kyuubi."

Hikari glared at him, "Kisame."

Sakura asked, "Who is that?"

Sasuke answered, putting his hand on his chokuto, "Hoshigaki Kisame, an S-rank nuke nin from Kiri, he's Itachi's partner. If he's here..."

Kisame smirked, "Yeah, he's waiting for you ahead of me. Besides, I heard you have an all kunoichi plus sword user team, right?"

Yugao said, "Kakashi, you take your team and Chiyo-sama and go on ahead, we'll catch up later."

Kakashi nodded but Hikari wanted to protest, and before she could, he looked at her, "Hikari, we cannot waste time here, you know what happens when a Jinchurikii has their bijuu extracted, especially when they are not Uzumaki."

That stopped Hikari from saying whatever she was gonna say and her face morphed into one of determination. The last Namikaze nodded and stared at her sisters. The three swordswomen/archer nodded before they all drew their swords/bow and arrow.

Kisame just smirked as team Kakashi and Chiyo dashed past them. Yugao raised an eyebrow, "I thought you were gonna stop us?"

Kisame huffed, "Heh, I'm not as cocky as to think I can take on all of you at once. Besides, Itachi wants a little talk with his little brother."

The man's smirk vanished as he swung his Samehada, letting it crash into the ground, "Now, let us get started, shall we?"

Yugao and her team just took their stance as Kisame charged.

The blue skinned man swung the Samehada, deciding to take down Yugao first before he slowly picked off the three other girls.

The purple haired woman seemed to realize his intentions and decided to humor him. The woman slid past the massive shark sword and swung her katana from below.

The swordsman of the Akatsuki smirked as leaned back slightly, allowing the blade to pass by his face. But he didn't expect the next thing that happened. As fast as lightning, Asuna charged forward, using the Samehada that was lodged on the ground as a platform, she jumped up and spun, coming down with stabs.

Kisame instinctively tried to raise his sword to block, but his eyes widened as he couldn't move it. Then he realized as he caught sight of Suguha holding his sword down with her own sword.

He moved too late as Asuna's rapier stabbed through his heart, making him cough blood as he grunted in pain.

Just joking. The man smirked as his body melted into water, the Samehada that Suguha was holding down doing the same.

As the man seemingly vanished, Sinon caught something moving and she quickly shot an arrow at the direction, and as expected, something struck it down as she saw the arrow fall to the ground.

The girl tried to further sense his location, but Kisame's voice interrupted her, "Suiton: Umi no Jutsu!"

In an instant, water flooded the area. The four kunoichi couldn't help but be impressed by how much water Kisame drew out, considering there was no direct source of water in the area, and the man had managed to make a miniature lake that had ankle deep water.

But the four kunoichi didn't have the leisure to admire his work, not when Kisame was no where to be seen.

The four of them quickly placed their backs against one another, scanning the area for the shark man.

They all stood there for a while, waiting for the man to appear. Then their eyes widened at the same time as all of them realized it, the four women leaped away just as Kisame arose from the ground with the Samehada wide open.

The man chuckled as the four kunoichi surrounded him, "Not bad, not bad at all!"

However, Kisame knew he had put himself in a bad position. The man had half-expected the four kunoichi to be unable to dodge the attack, and now he was surrounded.

Regardless, winning or surviving wasn't too important, all he needed to do was stall them after all. Kisame smirked and threw his sword up, drawing the attention of the four kunoichi to look at the sword. Then he quickly went through a set of seals, "Suiton: Bakusuishoha!"

He spat out a huge amount of water, adding in the water on the ground, a huge tidal wave rose and raged towards the four kunoichi.

However, they weren't just gonna stand there and do nothing. Suguha quickly raised her sword, channeling wind chakra into it while Sinon did the same with her arrows. Yugao and Asuna, on the otherhand, both went through a set of seals.

Then right as the waves were about to slam into the four women, they let their attacks loose. Suguha sent a strong wind slash that completely separated the wave into two, letting the water pass by her harmlessly.

Sinon released a chakra charged arrow and destroyed the wave, letting water rain down, whereas Yugao unleashed a massive fireball that evaporated most of the water. As for Asuna, she summoned an orca that easily took in the water before it quickly vanished back to its realm.

As soon as they dealt with their waves, all four kunoichi dashed forward, weapons drawn, except Sinon had put away her bow and arrows in favor of her dagger. Kisame just smirked as four blades pierced through his body from all four sides, blood dropping to the water on the ground.

The man chuckled, "Not bad, not bad. I look forward to really fighting you next time."

His words confused the four kunoichi. Then they felt his chakra signature change and Kisame's skin returned to normal. More importantly, the Kiri nuke nin's face changed, revealing a face none of them knew.

The four kunoichi pulled out their blades as the dead body fell to the floor. Suguha asked, "What just happened?"

Yugao knelt down and inspected the body, Sinon also doing the same. The archer thought aloud, "Probably a transformation jutsu?"

Asuna stared at the corpse, "But, wouldn't a transformation jutsu just alter the characteristics of a person at most?"

Yugao nodded, "Exactly. But he had everything Kisame is known for. The Samehada certainly wasn't a fake, nor were his chakra levels."

Suguha frowned, "We can figure that out later, we need to catch up with the others."

No one disagreed and they quickly leaped away from the area following Sinon's cat, leaving the dead corpse of the supposed Hoshigaki Kisame.

Meanwhile, around the time Kisame and team Yugao started fighting, team Kakashi and Chiyo were leaping through the trees, with Pakkun leading them.

Then, Pakkun frowned and said, "Stop."

Everyone did so, looking at the dog in confusion. Kakashi asked, "What's wrong, Pakkun?"

The dog stared in front, "Come out, I can smell you, Uchiha."

That immediately set off alarms in Hikari and Sasuke's minds. There was only one other Uchiha, from what they knew, Uchiha Itachi.

As expected, the slayer of the Uchiha clan stepped out of the shadows, staring at Sasuke and Hikari specifically.

Sakura got nervous at the sight, she had heard of the man from Sasuke, and the girl knew that Itachi was far stronger than any of them.

Itachi spoke, "Its been a while, Sasuke, Uzumaki, no, Namikaze Hikari."

Sasuke glared at him, "Itachi..."

The younger Uchiha's reflex was to charged his brother, but Hikari held up her hand, pulling him back, "Wait, Sasuke."

The man nodded at the girl, realizing his mistake, "Thanks, Hikari."

Itachi had a barely noticeable smile, 'Hmm, so he's trying to get over his hate. Good, that will truly be the first step to ending the cycle.'

The Akatsuki member said, "Namikaze Hikari, I will have you come with me."

Hikari frowned and took a stance, "Like hell I'll just hand the Kyuubi to you, he's my friend."

Kakashi spoke up, "Hikari, wait a-"

He was cut off by the girl, "Kakashi-sensei, please, let me and Sasuke handle him."

Sasuke nodded as he stepped forward beside Hikari, "Yeah, he's our problem."

Kakashi looked at them before he nodded. To Sasuke, Itachi was the man who killed his clan, the young Uchiha needed to know why it happened and he needed closure to that event, and the only way for that was through Itachi.

To Hikari, Itachi was one of the Akatsuki, so it meant he was gonna hunt for her anyways, so she had to confront him for the safety of the people she loved and herself.

The scarecrow nodded, "Fine. But, if things get too far, I will step in."

Hikari and Sasuke both nodded as they faced the man, the blonde releasing her chains while Sasuke activated his Sharingan. Sakura just stood by with Kakashi and Chiyo, the medic knew in a fight like this, she was gonna be more of a hindrance, since Sakura knew she wasn't as strong as either of them. Her main job was to heal, not fight after all.

Itachi seemed to realize that his opponents were the two younger members of the group. He hmm'd before he spoke, "Come."

Immediately, the two sprang into action. Contrary to what Itachi expected, instead of charging forward with her chains, Hikari shot a dozen kunai at him with her chains.

The man easily dodged the projectiles, wondering why the girl would choose such an ineffective approach. If it were gennin fighting a team of gennin, or even chunnin, he could understand. Those weapons were the basics in fighting. But once you reached Jounin level or higher, unless it involved plans or due to low chakra levels, using kunai as throwing weapons was the not the first option.

Then Itachi's eyes landed on one of the kunai, and he realized why she had chosen that approach, and he cursed his idiocy for forgetting the possibility that she could use the Hiraishin.

Hikari and Sasuke also seemed to notice his expression as they both grinned/smirked. Then, the last thing Itachi saw was Hikari placing her hand on Sasuke's shoulder before the yellow flash blinded him.

For the next few moments, Itachi was bombarded with kicks, punches and slashes from the the two members of team Kakashi. Itachi didn't even have the time to substitute as they were simply too fast, it was as if they were everywhere at the same time.

But Itachi wouldn't be Itachi if he just let them beat him up just like that. Sasuke and Hikari appeared in front and behind Itachi respectively, both with a Chidori in their hands.

The two roared in unison as they thrust their lightning clad arms at Itachi, "Chidori!"

However, they were a tad bit too slow, as Itachi managed to disperse into a dozen crows, letting the two jutsu clash into each other before sending the two flying back from the recoil.

Itachi reappeared some distance away, "Not bad, but not good enough."

Sasuke and Hikari both got up and glared at the man. Then Hikari vanished in a yellow flash and appeared behind Itachi. The man's eyes widened in surprise as Hikari slammed a basketball sized Rasengan into his back and sent him flying towards Sasuke, the younger Uchiha already prepared for part.

Itachi cursed as Sasuke slammed a Chidori into his gut. Fortunately, he managed to substitute with a log before the attack could hit, making the Rasengan being the only attack to damage him, which, alone was saying a lot.

Itachi stood upright, a bit painfully. The Uchiha slayer was thankful for the reduced stimulation, since it wasn't his own body, plus he was moving according to the body's capacity, which was far below his real body.

Itachi continued staring at the two, while he wasn't going all out, or rather couldn't, he knew the two weren't fighting at their best either. But the bout just now told him a lot, so much that if Hikari and Sasuke were to both go all out, he probably wouldn't survive a direct encounter, especially not with his current state of health.

The former Anbu then decided to take it up a notch and closed his eyes. Then as he opened them, Sasuke narrowed his Sharingan as he noticed the Mangekyou Sharingan.

The young Uchiha spoke, "As I expected, you also have the Mangekyou."

Itachi stared at them passively, "You make it sound like you've obtained yours."

Sasuke glared at him as his Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyou Sharingan, "Yeah."

Itachi had a ghost of a smirk on his face before he said, "Then come at me, show me how good you are with those eyes."

On an unseen sign, the two brothers yelled, "Amateratsu!"

Black flames exploded between them, the two set of flames fighting each other for dominance. Sasuke briefly glanced at Hikari, but careful not to move the flames, and the girl nodded.

Immediately, Hikari appeared behind the man, with a Rasengan in her hand. But this Rasengan was different. Instead of the usual blue sphere of chakra, this Rasengan was lightning blue and had electricity in it, looking like a combination of the Chidori and the Rasengan, or rather, the Chidori contained in a Rasengan.

The last Namikaze roared, "Raiton: Rasengan!"

The girl slammed the sphere of lightning into the Uchiha's back and sent him flying towards into the black flames, ending him.

Sasuke started to feel his eyes pulse and he quickly deactivated the Mangekyou, reverting it to his normal eyes. The group quickly went to check if Itachi was really dead, even though Kakashi doubted it.

While Sasuke and Hikari were both incredibly strong, Itachi wasn't made an Anbu at a young age for no reason. Thus, they really needed to be careful.

The group turned Itachi's body over, and they were surprised. Instead of the face of Uchiha Itachi, it was the face of another man. Chiyo gasped, "Yura?!"

Hikari asked, "You know him?"

The old woman nodded, "He's one of our ninja, but, why is he here?"

Sasuke stared at the corpse, "Most likely, he's a spy for the Akatsuki, and he was used as a body for a transformation jutsu. He was too weak for someone like Itachi."

Sakura stared at the body, at Sasuke's words, she felt a bit scared. The medic had hoped that they would confront Itachi and the Akatsuki as a whole team, she had hoped that she could be strong enough to stand beside her two teammates. But after seeing the level the two fought on, Sakura felt a bit discouraged.

The girl narrowed her eyes and thought, 'No, I must train harder. I can't let them leave me behind.'

Then, Hikari spoke, "Come on, we have to hurry."

Chiyo nodded, "Yeah, I just hope they haven't extracted the Shukaku yet."

Sakura blinked, "Extract?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, extract. I suppose you wouldn't know, since even after Sandaime-sama died, we didn't really reveal anything about the bijuu. But you know about the Jinchurikii, the hosts for the sealed Bijuu, right?"

Sakura nodded, "Hikari and Gaara are these Jinchurikii, right?"

The blonde nodded, "Yes, as you know already, I have the Kyuubi in my seal. Back to extraction of a bijuu, when you extract a bijuu from the Jinchurikii, they die."

Sakura gaped in shock, "What? Why?!"

Sasuke stayed silent as Hikari shrugged, "No idea, all I know is we die if our Bijuu is taken out."

The girl turned, "Come on, we have to hurry."

The team quickly continued on their journey, but Sakura couldn't help but have her mind linger on the fact that Jinchurikii would die if the bijuu was extracted.

(Note, Hikari, as an Uzumaki, wouldn't die immediately from the extraction. I mean, if she doesn't get medical attention, then of course she can die, just not immediately like how the other Jinchurikii normally will.)

Meanwhile, back in the cave, the silhouettes of Itachi and Kisame frowned. The shark man spoke, "Well, they've defeated the dummies."

Itachi nodded but didn't say anything. The leader nodded, "I see, but nevermind. We're almost done anyways. Sasori, Deidara, once we're done, try to capture the Kyuubi. If things get bad, retreat, we won't need the Kyuubi immediately anyways."

The two artists just nodded as they continued the sealing jutsu. As they continued, the leader thought, 'I heard Jiraiya-sensei trained you, show me whether you are worthy, Uzumaki Hikari.'

A while later, the two teams were gathered in front of a cave, blocked by a massive boulder with a seal on it. Team Yugao had caught up with the others after a while, and they had headed for the direction where Gaara was.

Now, they were staring at the boulder. Hikari narrowed her eyes, "A seal. A badly done one but still better than a certain hag I know."

Chiyo sighed, Hikari was never gonna let that go. Kakashi spoke up, "Hikari."

The Uzumaki nodded, "I know. Normally you'd need to find all the other counterparts to the seal, but we don't have time. I'll forcefully burn the seal with the Kyuubi's chakra."

The others blinked, 'She can do that?'

The Kyuubi Jinchurikii quickly launched herself onto the boulder and took out her brush. She couldn't just let the bijuu chakra burn the seal, she didn't know if there were any traps there after all. The best way would be to cut the chakra off, then burn the seal away.

Hikari quickly drew several seals on the tag and thought, 'Kyuubi.'

The bijuu nodded, "Got it."

The last Namikaze quickly felt the familiar Bijuu chakra flow into her arm, making it take on an orange hue. The girl pulled her fist back, then adding in Tsunade's training in super strength, Hikari smashed right through the seal and the boulder, obliterating it to pieces as she jumped off a shard of the boulder and landed on the water safely.

As she landed, the girl noticed the group staring at her, jaws open. Hikari blinked, "What's wrong?"

Kakashi blinked before he realized who in the nine hells he was looking at, "Never mind. You just never stop surprising us."

Sakura nodded, "I mean, I know you learned Tsunade-sama's super strength technique, but this is just..."

Sasuke nodded, "Thank you for not killing me that time."

Hikari just sweatdropped and looked at her sisters and Yugao. While they weren't as surprised as her teammates, they weren't exactly indifferent either.

Hikari sighed, "Don't say anything, let's go."

The three girls just laughed before they all quickly entered the cave.

As they reached the end of the cave, they spotted Deidara and Sasori waiting for them, the dead body of Gaara laid at their feet.

Deidara smirked, "Hmph, took you long enough."

Sasuke glared at them, "Its time for you to return the Kazekage."

Deidara chuckled arrogantly, "I'd like to see you try. The Kazekage is barely holding on, you know? I wonder what would happen if we just left him like this, for I don't know, an hour?"

The mad bomber grinned madly. Sasori sighed, "Deidara, remember the plan."

The man sighed, "Fine fine. Spoil my fun. Whatever."

The man threw a clump of clay into the air and it turned into a huge bird that closed it's claws around Gaara. Deidara jumped onto the bird and looked at Sasori once more, "Well, I'm off then."

The puppet user nodded as Deidara shot out of the cave. Kakashi cursed, "Hikari, Sasuke, Sakura, let's go! Yugao, Sasori is yours!"

The three other members of team Kakashi didn't need another word as the four of them shot out of the cave, chasing after Deidara.

Sasori tilted his head, "So, the five of you are going to be my opponents?"

Chiyo nodded, "Yes, Sasori."

The puppet user let out a breath and spoke in his raspy voice, "Chiyo-baasama, its been a while you've gotten old."

The old lady huffed, "At least I can still fight."

Sasori chuckled, "We'll see."

Immediately, the hunched figure charged forward and swung his tail at the women. Suguha, who was the first in the line of fire, so to speak, quickly raised her Tempest and blocked the attack. The girl quickly charged wind chakra into her blade in hopes she could slice off the blade of the tail, but Sasori seemed to know what she was about to do and retracted his tail before she could do so.

Then at the same time, Asuna and Yugao charged at the man, the former Anbu raising her katana while Asuna prepared to stab through Sasori's head.

Sasori cursed and leaped away, barely dodging the attacks. Then all of a sudden, he found himself unable to move, most likely due to chakra strings from Chiyo. The man cursed, "Fucking old bitch."

But it was too late, as Sinon released five arrows, all with explosive seals on them. Then the arrows struck him, causing a massive explosion.

However, the five women knew better than to let their guard down just like that. Yes, explosive seals were a good way to kill someone, especially at point blank range like what they just did. But when going against someone like Sasori, someone with an S-rank in the Bingo book, they couldn't let their guard down, at least not until they saw his dead body.

True enough, the smoke cleared, revealing a broken pile of wood, and standing some distance behind that, was a young man with red hair.

Sinon blinked, "Eh? Who is that?"

Chiyo let out a breath, "That is Sasori's true form. The one we destroyed was just a puppet, the Hiruko, an armor puppet, so to speak."

The man smiled creepily, "As expected of Chiyo-baasama, you haven't changed."

The old lady huffed, "That's my line. How are you so young?"

The man chuckled, "Who knows? But enough talk, I don't like to keep people waiting."

He took out a small scroll and unsealed its contents, revealing a figure that shocked Chiyo to the core. In front of them, was a puppet, one that Chiyo was very familiar with.

The elder spoke in shock, "Sasori, the Sandaime Kazekage, it was you?!"

The man smirked, "Of course, Chiyo-baasama, a very beautiful piece of art, don't you think?"

Chiyo glared at her grandson, "You..."

The smirk on Sasori's face vanished, "Enough, let's continue."

Not giving time for the women to react, Sasori willed the puppet of the Sandaime Kazekage to conjure a massive drill that was several times the mass of the puppet, the drill connecting to the puppet's right arm.

Sasori grinned, "Giga Drill Break."

The drill started spinning and the puppet charged the five kunoichi. Yugao yelled, "Scatter!"

The five of them all leaped out of the way, allowing the drill to pass by them harmlessly. As soon as they regained their balance, Asuna, Yugao and Suguha charged Sasori, intending to end the puppet user.

But the man was having none of that, he quickly willed the iron sand of the Sandaime Kazekage to shoot at the three women.

Sinon cursed and shot several arrows enhanced with wind chakra, all with explosion tags, at the bullets of sand. The arrows exploded upon contact and dispersed the bullets.

The three swordswomen glanced back and nodded their thanks to the archer before they continued their onslaught.

Sasori cursed and tried to make his puppet fight the three women, but Suguha saw it coming and managed to cut off the chakra strings connected to Sandaime Kazekage puppet.

The puppeteer cursed as he lost control over the puppet. Normally, there wouldn't be a problem since Sasori could just reconnect to the puppets, but apparently the three swordswomen would not let him do so, nor would his grandmother or the archer.

The man cursed as he leaped away to dodge a slash from Yugao, but he was too late as Suguha and Asuna flanked him from both sides. Then they charged, Asuna with a stab and Suguha with a slash.

On reflex, Sasori tilted his body so that the blades only grazed him, but it also ripped his robes to shreds in the process.

The puppeteer cursed again and leaped away, "Fuck this shit, I kinda liked this robe..."

Sasori sighed and tore away the shredded robe and threw it to a side, revealing him in all his glory, with pants of course. However, the side shocked the kunoichi present.

Instead of muscles and flesh and whatnot, they saw the shiny synthetic material used for puppets, or at least, a similar material. And at places where there should be smooth skin, were lines or joints only seen in puppets.

Chiyo said in shock, "Sasori, you... You monster!"

Sasori laughed, "Monster? Not grandson anymore?"

Asuna asked, "What, what is that?"

Yugao stared at the man, "Asuna, that is what we call a human puppet, where the human body is turned into a puppet. It hasn't been done in ages."

The Suna nuke nin smirked, "Yes, I am a human puppet. I am the embodiment of perfection, the perfect masterpiece! The eternal form of art! Explosions have nothing on my art!"

The women didn't reply as Chiyo silently brought out a scroll, "I had hoped you'd at least retain a bit of humanity, but I guess not. Its time I ended you, my grandson."

Sasori chuckled and also took out a scroll, "I'd like to see you try."

The four kunoichi from Konoha all stood guard as the pair of puppeteers readied their strongest techniques.

"Shirohigi: Jikki Chikamatsu no Shū!"

"Akahigi: Hyakki no Sōen!"

XXX

Done. So this is the 34th chapter. The next chapter will be the second part of the Sasori fight and the Deidara fight. After that will be the end of the Ichibi arc.

Then will be the Niibi arc, followed by the Sanbi. I'll skip four tails to six tails, so it will pick up at Nanabi.

Review please. Until the next chapter.


	35. Chapter 35

Yo, so here is the latest chapter. Thank you very much, **BlackCrystal06** , that means a lot to me. I will do my best with this story, hopefully it will meet your expectations.

 **Eddie Perez** , about Full Counter, not really sure, I'm not really knowledgeable about the Seven Deadly Sins, but I'll think about it.

XXX

In the instant the two puppeteers released the contents of the scrolls, the area was filled with puppets.

Above Sasori, were over a hundred puppets, while Chiyo had ten puppets standing in front of her.

Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and Yugao gaped at the sheer amount of puppets in front of them. Sure, Chiyo was a renowned puppeteer, known for her ten puppets which could take down a fortress in a night.

But Sasori, his hundred puppets were known to be able to take down a nation in a night. Of course, rumors tend to be exaggerated.

Sasori flexed his wing-like blades on his back, the hundred puppets all eager to crush their new targets. The man smirked, "I'll enjoy adding you to my collection."

Chiyo just narrowed her eyes at the man, her ten puppets ready to move, "Girls, get ready. A single scratch will be fatal, he will have poison on all his weapons. Destroy every single one of his puppets, or we cannot win."

The Konoha kunoichi all nodded. Then Sasori willed all his puppets to charge.

For next few minutes, the five kunoichi destroyed every puppet that came in their sight. Yugao and Suguha slashed apart every puppet they saw, charging chakra into their blades to severe the chakra strings as well.

Asuna stabbed and broke every puppet by punching and kicking them apart, while Sinon used her explosive arrows to destroy the puppets. As for Chiyo, the old woman's ten puppets crushed every single puppet that faced them. Using the interchangeable joints and gadgets in them, Chiyo's ten puppets combined and blasted pressurized air that blew apart all the puppets.

In less than 20 minutes, the five kunoichi had destroyed the hundred puppets.

Sasori fumed, 'One of my best collections, and they destroyed in less than an hour?! UNACCEPTABLE!'

Just as the women were about to turn to Sasori, the human puppet dashed forward, charging at Sinon. The archer's eyes widened and quickly drew her dagger and blocked one of Sasori's blades.

The man tried to shoot poison in her face, but before he could, Chiyo's ten puppets along with Yugao and Suguha came down slashing at the human puppet, forcing him to dodge the attacks.

Then Sasori noticed one of them, Asuna, was missing. His eyes widened as he heard footsteps behind him, and he quickly reattached his chakra strings to one of his broken puppets, using it to block the attack.

But it proved to be futile, as Asuna charged her rapier with wind chakra, and broke the puppets apart before she broke through Sasori's chest, breaking the human puppet to pieces.

Asuna let out a breath and was about to head back to the group when she saw one of Chiyo's puppet shooting a sphere at her. The girl was about to deflect it when it shot right past her head.

Asuna turned and saw Sasori bound to the wall of the cave. But then they noticed the face had turned blank as the circle with the kanji for scorpion on his chest was absent in his chest.

Then, a random puppet rose up and raised a blade, but before he could move, two blades pierced through his heart, making his eyes go wide. Only then did he notice the two puppets beside him, with chakra strings linked to his grandmother.

Yugao, Suguha, Sinon and Asuna were all surprised, they knew basic knowledge about puppetry, in case they ever had to fight them, but this was just taking it to another level.

Sasori chuckled, "As expected of you, nothing ever gets past you."

Chiyo turned to her grandson, "Though you turned yourself into a puppet, a puppet requires a constant supply of chakra. That means you have to have a part of you that remains human, that was your weakness."

Sasori laughed humourlessly, "I knew I should have removed the kanji. Whatever."

The human puppet looked at his grandmother, "In my body, there are several other scrolls, they contain my other collections, give them to that guy I poisoned the other day, he has three my first puppets, right? Might as well give him the rest, don't worry, only one scroll contains the human puppets."

Chiyo wordlessly nodded before Sasori chuckled, "To think I'd be defeated by a team of women, well, I guess there are worse ways to go."

After that, the light faded from his eyes as he finally left the world. The five women didn't say anything as they just stood there for a while.

Suguha then spoke up, "Come on, we're done, we should go see if the others are done."

No one disagreed and they quickly left the cave, not before Chiyo gave her grandson a small and brief burial with the two puppets though. As a grandmother, she didn't want her grandson to die parentless, even if he had committed so many sins.

Meanwhile, back to when the fight started, team Kakashi were chasing after Deidara on his clay bird.

Hikari glanced back, "Kakashi-sensei!"

The cyclops nodded, knowing what she wanted to do, "Go!"

The Uzumaki nodded and threw a dozen kunai at Deidara's bird, purposely missing the man. The Iwa nuke nin smirked, "Where are you aiming?"

His smirk vanished when he saw the yellow flash. In an instant, Hikari appeared in front of him, a Rasengan in her hand, "Raiton: Rasengan!"

Deidara instinctively threw a clump of explosive clay at the girl, but the lightning infused Rasengan just rendered the explosive clay useless and ripped to shreds.

The mad bomber's eyes widened as the lightning infused Rasengan slammed into his chest, sending him flying straight into the ground, at the same time destroying his bird.

This also caused Gaara to start falling to the ground, coupled with his injuries, the Kazekage wouldn't survive the fall. But fortunately, Hikari was prepared, and sent a bundle of chains that wrapped around the unconscious man, preventing him from hitting until she reached the ground herself.

As the girl landed on the grass, with Gaara caught by her chains, she slowly set the Kazekage on the grass. The blonde sighed in relief, at least he was still alive, barely breathing, but alive nonetheless. She also noticed that she couldn't sense the Shukaku's chakra anymore.

Hikari turned and yelled, "Sakura!"

Quickly, the pink medic appeared along with the rest of her team. Sakura's eyes widened when she saw Gaara and she quickly went to heal him.

Sasuke asked, "Where's Deidara?"

Hikari glanced to the trees behind her, "Somewhere over there."

Kakashi nodded to Sasuke, "We'll go take care of him, we'll have to defeat the Akatsuki eventually after all."

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah, better kill one off first. Besides, I heard his bounty's quite high."

Kakashi chuckled, "Come on. Hikari, stay here and guard Sakura and Gaara, we don't want to take any chances."

The girl nodded. While the Shukaku may have been extracted, apart from getting the Bijuu, no one really knew of the Akatsuki's goals, so they couldn't risk them coming back to take Gaara.

The two Sharingan users then leaped away to search for Deidara. As they left, Hikari turned her attention to Gaara and Sakura, "Sakura, how is he?"

The pinkette frowned, "He's slipping away, I'm doing everything I can to keep him alive."

Hikari just nodded as she guarded the two.

Meanwhile, Sasuke and Kakashi were running towards where Deidara was supposed to be. All of a sudden, a clay spider jumped out of the trees at them.

The cyclops instinctively activated his Mangekyou Sharingan, "Kamui!"

The clay spider swirled away, preventing the spider from exploding. Then they heard a loud voice, "What do you think of my art? Beautiful, right?"

The two turned and saw Deidara on a tree. Sasuke mocked, "Art? You call this shit art?"

Deidara fumed for a moment before he roared, "Insolent brat! You have no idea what true art is. ART... IS AN EXPLOSION!"

Only then did the two notice that they were surrounded by clay spiders and clay birds, all ready to detonate. The two Sharingan users quickly flashed through handseals and slammed their hands on the ground, "Doton: Dome!"

Three domes made of mud rose around them, blocking most of the explosion before the domes gave out and crumbled away. Deidara hmm'd, "Impressive, to be able to block that."

The man then brought out another clay doll, "Then how about this?! My C1 explosives!"

Kakashi cursed and activated his Mangekyou Sharingan, aiming at the clay doll, "Kamui!"

Instantly, the doll swirled away to Deidara's shock. Then taking advantage of the pause, Sasuke charged forward, drawing his chokuto and charging it with lightning chakra.

The young Uchiha swung his blade at Deidara a few times, which Deidara either dodged or blocked them, before Sasuke spun and slammed his sword onto the ground, the Chidori streaming around his body and expanding into a 5 meter radius, "Chidori Nagashi!"

The Chidori stunned and electrocuted the man, but unfortunately couldn't kill him. But Kakashi wasn't done, nor would he allow the chance to slip by.

Going through a set of seals, Kakashi charged forward with a spear hand, clad in lightning, "Raikiri!"

He stabbed his arm through Deidara's chest, making him cough blood. Deidara growled, "You think this will be enough to kill me? I will show you my strongest art, my C0 explosives!"

The man activated his final jutsu, his body turning transparent as he used the earth element of the human body as material for his explosives. But unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen.

Kakashi increased the intensity of his Raikiri, "Omae wa mo, shindeiru."

Deidara's eyes widened as another arm burst through his chest, this one clad in the Chidori, "N-nani?"

Due to the two lightning element jutsu, Deidara's C0 technique faded, nullified by the electricity as his body regained its colour. The teacher and student then pulled their hands out, letting the man to fall to the ground dead.

Sasuke huffed, "So much for your art, it was abysmal. Fuinjutsu is a whole lot better if you wanna talk about art."

Kakashi chuckled, "Well, you're not wrong. But I prefer Jiraiya-sama's work."

Sasuke sighed, "You and your porn. Whatever, come on, let's head back."

Kakashi didn't object and the two quickly went back to where Hikari, Gaara and Sakura were. As they entered the area, they were met with a grim sight.

Sakura and Hikari both sat by Gaara's body, both sporting sad and grim expressions. Sasuke asked, shocked, "Is Gaara?"

The two girls turned to the man, and they nodded softly. Kakashi sighed, "I see."

The team just stood/sat there for a while until team Yugao and Chiyo reached the area. The five's eyes widened as they saw the scene.

No words were needed as they just stood there. Chiyo thought, 'All my life, everything I have done, has always harmed you and your siblings, Gaara. Its time I did something good for a change.'

The old woman walked to Gaara's side and knelt down. Sakura asked, "Chiyo-sama?"

The old lady said, "All this time, everything I've done always hurted him. I sealed the Ichibi in him and I did a very bad job. Now because of my grandson, it costed his life. Its time I atoned for my sins, even if for a little bit."

Her palms glowed a mix of green and light blue as she placed her hands on Gaara's chest. Sakura blinked as she saw Gaara's chest slightly moving, his breathing slowly returning.

After a while, Chiyo winced, "Not enough chakra..."

The old lady glanced around and remembered there was another Jinchurikii present. The woman turned to Hikari, still not moving her arms from Gaara, "Hikari, I need more chakra, place your hands above mine."

The blonde didn't hesitate and quickly placed her hands above Chiyo's. At that instant, the glow intensified and Gaara's breathing steadied. Everyone's eyes widened as Gaara's heart beat strengthened until it was constant, showing that she had successfully revived the former Jinchurikii.

Chiyo finally stopped the jutsu and fell on her back panting, "There, he's fine now."

Hikari stared at the old lady in surprise, "How?"

Chiyo didn't answer, instead it was the Kyuubi, "She used a forbidden jutsu, most probably. I can feel her life slipping away, not surprising, as to bring back the dead, you would need something of equal value."

Hikari snapped her head to Chiyo, "Chiyo, you used your own life?"

That statement surprised everyone present, and the elder chuckled tiredly, "I originally only had less than a year left anyways, exchanging that for Gaara's full lifespan, not a bad trade, right?"

No one answered that question as Chiyo said with a smile, "Tell Ebizo not to join me so soon, I want some time alone with my son, daughter in law and grandson."

With that said, the old woman fell to the ground softly, her eyes closing as she gave her final breath with a smile. The Konoha shinobi all just stood there for a moment, respecting the final act of the village elder of Sunagakure.

A while later, Gaara woke up, the young Kazekage saw the Konoha shinobi standing and Chiyo on the floor. He quickly realized what had happened, "Did Chiyo-baasama?"

Hikari nodded, "She used her life to save you."

The young Kazekage nodded, "I see. We'll have to give her a proper burial."

No one disagreed and they headed back for the village.

Later at night, back in Konoha, while team Kakashi and team Yugao were still in Suna, Kirito was taking a nap back in his room. He had just finished forging another blade and decided to get some rest, since Klein could close the shop anyways.

As he slept, he had a dream. The blacksmith was in a huge throne room, standing in front of him was a man with white hair and a crown.

He also noticed two women, one short and one tall, standing some distance away from them, the taller woman had white long hair while the shorter one had curly brown hair with a scholar's hat.

But Kirito was more focused on the man, who was speaking, "Why, do you side with them?"

Kirito didn't know what was going on, but he spoke on his own as if they were his words, yet not at the same time, "They did nothing wrong, they merely discovered their own power. It is a part of their evolution, we do not have the right to stop it."

The man frowned, "We are gods. That princess ate a fruit from our realm, claiming our mana and calling it their chakra. Now, she calls herself a god, do you see how they are mocking us?!"

Kirito frowned, "Even so, it does not mean we have the right to destroy a civilization just because of that."

The man sighed, "Your time in the human world has changed you."

Then his expression hardened and he turned, walking away, "Regardless, I will destroy them, whether you stand with me or not."

Kirito felt anger swell in him and he spoke coldly, "If you dare lay a finger on them, I swear I will make you regret it."

The man's eyes widened and he turned as the two glared at each other. The man replied, "Then so be it. Ready your troops then, the next time we meet, one of us will fall."

The man then left the room. The two women approached Kirito, the one with white hair spoke, "Was that really necessary?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, our worlds are connected, this planet will collapse if we lack any part of it. So, what are you two going to do?"

The shorter woman sighed, "I'm not going to participate in this war, I'll be in my library, tell me when everything is over, I still have to look over the two worlds after all."

Kirito nodded and he looked at the white haired girl, "What about you?"

The girl sighed, "Fine. I'll help, I'll get the knights ready."

Kirito smiled, "Thank you."

The woman sighed, "I seriously have no idea what goes through that idiot's mind. True, that woman ate a fruit from the tree, she gained mana as a result and passed it down to her children. But it is the same as what we did here, we gave the humans access to mana, and they flourished."

Kirito chuckled, "Probably, because they got it without his permission, you know how prideful he is."

Then his expression turned serious, "But, I can't just let him destroy them just like that."

The woman smiled softly, "You've really changed, maybe sending you to experience life in the human world wasn't so bad. Just try not to kill each other much."

Kirito nodded before everything turned white.

Then, Kirito woke up, the dream still fresh on his mind, 'What was that?'

He thought back to the dream, it was too real, as if he was really experiencing it. Then the next question came, who were those three people. It felt familiar, like he knew who they were, but at the same time, he couldn't recall who they were to him.

Kirito decided to file it off for later, since dreams could be weird sometimes. He looked at the clock and saw that it was only 2am, so he just went back to sleep.

The next day, back in Sunagakure, teams Yugao and Kakashi stood by the border, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro stood with them.

The Kazekage said, "Once again, thank you for your aid, we are once again in your debt."

Kakashi nodded, "Of course, we are allies after all."

Gaara nodded, "Hikari, take care, the Akatsuki will come for you next."

Hikari grinned, "Don't worry about me, I'll just have to train as hard as I can."

The Kazekage just chuckled and nodded, "I suppose we shouldn't delay you any further, have a safe trip."

Yugao nodded, "Thank you, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara just nodded before the Konoha shinobi left the village, heading back for their own village.

Meanwhile, in Amegakure, Pein stood on the tower, watching over his raining village. In a blink, Konan appeared beside him, "So, we have the Ichibi now, what do we do next?"

The dead body of Yahiko spoke, "The next one would be the Niibi. From Zetsu's intel, the Jinchurikii is Nii Yugito, from Kumogakure. I'll have Hidan and Kakuzu hunt her down."

Konan just nodded as they continued watching over the village.

XXX

Done. Review please. So that's the end of the Ichibi sub arc, it came out a bit shorter than I expected though. The next one will be the Niibi sub arc. And we have a small glimpse of a vision from the Underworld, I'm just gonna let you guys guess why I put that there. Tell me what you guys think.

Until next time.


	36. Chapter 36

Hey, so here is the newest chapter.

 **BlackCrystal06,** well, I do make it a point to reply to reviews, whether it be through PM or a shout out. I know what you mean with readers' hope and stuff, I mean, before we start writing stories, we are all readers after all.

To those three mentioned in Kirito's vision/dream, well, those who have read at least until Alicization Uniting will know who I'm talking about. I mean, my descriptions are vague, but if you watch the opening scenes, those three, not sure about the man, but the two women are there.

I won't say too much, since it will spoil the future parts of the story. But to how Kirito's memories aren't retained in the Underworld and the real world, not wrong, not right either. Since this is a 'real world' setting, not a VR setting like in cannon SAO. But hey, the Underworld in cannon actually sends signals to influence the soul, or FluctLight. So I'll leave you guys to figure that out until I actually reveal that.

To **Guest** , well, yes, here, I'm making it so chakra came from the Underworld. Here, mana and chakra are the same thing, but people from the Elemental Nations have chakra coils, so they can do jutsu. People from the Underworld however, lack chakra coils, so they can only use spells.

Its basically comparing a system of pipes containing water to a huge pool of water. Where ninja have a closed tank of water, and they can draw the water through pipes, while people of the Underworld have a huge pool of water, where they can directly get the water from the pool.

And Kirito is a mixture of both, with a huge pool that you get the chakra/mana directly, with smaller pipes that transfer the chakra/mana for more specific amounts.

Anyways, on to the chapter. I was going to go straight to the Niibi sub arc, but then I remembered a certain short Sylph, so I decided to put in a small part for Suguha alone, a bit of a filler, so to speak.

XXX

Two days later, after the Kazekage retrieval mission, everyone had gone back to their respective routines.

Tsunade had given the two teams a three day break since they had defeated two S-ranked ninja in one mission. Yugao, Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, Hikari, Asuna and Sinon decided to take the break, but Suguha didn't felt like lazing off, so she requested a normal C-ranked mission.

Tsunade had decided to let her go on a solo C-ranked escort mission, which was to guard a young man and escort him back to his village, which was somewhere between Konohagakure and Takugakure.

Now, Suguha was at the gates waiting for her client. They had met at the Hokage's office, and he had went back to the hotel to retrieve his belongings.

After a while, Suguha heard, "Umm, Suguha-san, I'm done."

The kunoichi turned and saw the client, Nagata Shinichi. He was a short bespectacled young man, around her age according to what Tsunade told her. Shinichi wore a black jacket with long black pants, he also had a relatively large bag, probably containing his belongings.

Suguha also remembered that the client came to Konoha to trade goods, so that was also probably why he had that large bag.

The girl nodded, "Okay, let's go then."

The pair quickly left the village after doing the standard procedures at the gates.

Due to Shinichi being a civilian, they couldn't move at ninja speed, so they had to walk all the way to their destination, which, considering breaks and stuff like that, would probably take a day or two.

As they walked, Shinichi asked, "Umm, Suguha-san, I'm curious, how is life as a ninja?"

Suguha blinked, "Hmm, life as a ninja?"

The young man nodded, "Yes, my village doesn't have any ninja, so its actually my first time meeting one. I mean, I've of stories from my parents and grandparents, but that's all."

Suguha hmm'd, "Well, I don't know how to answer you, but its quite dangerous, I guess?"

Shinichi blinked, "Dangerous?"

Suguha nodded, "Yeah, we fight most of the time after all."

The young man nodded, "I see, then, aren't you scared?"

Suguha shrugged, "Not really, its all I've ever done after all. Well, if I'm facing a strong enemy, of course I will be scared, but its just do or die, I guess."

The man nodded, "I see."

Suguha then asked, "So, what do you do at your village? You said you don't have ninja there right?"

The man nodded, "Well, I'm learning to do business. So, I follow my father to meet customers most of the time. I mean, our village is not as developed as Konohagakure, so we have to do all the work ourselves."

Suguha nodded, "I see."

Shinichi smiled a bit, "Well, I actually went to Konoha to sell some of our village's goods, and my father decided to let me try doing it alone."

The kunoichi nodded, "I see, then, how was it?"

Shinichi smiled, "It went really well, though I'm quite surprised by how high the standards are in Konoha."

Suguha nodded, and as they were about to continue, the kunoichi held her hand out, blocking Shinichi from moving. The young man blinked, "Eh, is anything wrong?"

The swordswoman didn't answer him, instead, she spoke aloud, "Come out, you're not doing a good job hiding. I can see all of you in the trees."

Slowly, ten men walked out of the trees, all carrying machetes. Suguha also noted that they all had loose stances, with plenty of openings. She also didn't fail to notice the blades were all dull, meaning that the men didn't bother to take care of the blades.

One of the men, obviously the leader since he wore more armour, stepped forward and spoke, "Surrender all your money, and we'll consider letting you live."

The katana user sighed, they weren't intimidating at all. The leader didn't make an effort to scare them other than threatening them verbally, and their equipment was shit too. Though maybe it was just her, since Suguha noticed Shinichi's scared expression.

The young man said, "Umm, S-suguha-san, maybe we should just give them our stuff?"

Suguha sighed, "If we did that, then I'd have failed my mission already."

Shinichi blinked, seeing the angered faces of the ten bandits, "Umm, but there are too many of them."

Suguha giggled, "Don't worry, I'm quite strong you know?"

Shinichi didn't seem to believe her, nor did the ten bandits. One of them huffed, "What can a cute little girl like you can do?"

Suguha's smile turned dark, "Oh, would you like to try?"

The thugs didn't seem to notice the danger and the leader smirked, "Heh, I was planning to let you leave peacefully, but now I think we'll have some fun before we kill you."

Suguha's smile vanished and she slowly walked forward. The leader smirked, "Get her."

Immediately the ten men charged the one kunoichi. One of the thugs swung his machete at her but Suguha easily sidestepped, allowing the blade to pass by her harmlessly, which also caused the man to lose balance. Taking advantage of that, Suguha sent a devastating elbow to the man's neck, knocking him out in one blow.

The girl then noticed two other men swinging their blades at her, where the blades would have decapitated her from both sides. However, Suguha easily stopped the men by blocking their wrists before she punched one of them hard in the face, sending him flying away. The kunoichi then quickly kicked the other man where the sun doesn't shine, causing him to kneel in pain before she swiftly kicked him in the face, sending him to the floor.

Suguha then tilted her head just in time to avoid a stab from another man. The girl quickly sent an uppercut to that man, sending him up before she spun and kicked him, sending him crashing into the second man she had kicked previously.

The fifth thug and sixth thug charged, trying to flank the girl. But as they swung their blades, Suguha ducked, letting their blades clash before she did a handstand and spun, kicking the two bandits away into the trees.

The remaining four men looked hesitant after seeing six of their men dealt with so easily. But Suguha wasn't about to let them go unscathed. As quick as the wind, Suguha appeared in front of them, one of their machetes in her hand, and she swung hard, turning the blade so that the flat side of her blade struck all the men in the face hard, sending them crashing to the ground unconscious.

Looking around at her handiwork, Suguha nodded in satisfaction before she turned to Shinichi, "Are you okay?"

Shinichi looked shocked for a bit before he nodded. Seeing his expression, Suguha thought, 'Lucky I didn't draw my sword or kill any of them, I doubt he'd still be standing if he saw that.'

Suguha then turned, "Come on, let's go."

Unknown to the girl, however, fear was the furthest thing on the young man's mind, 'Suguha-san is so cool!'

After that, they just continued walking until night fell, and unfortunately, they weren't near any villages or inns, so they had to camp out. Fortunately, Suguha had came prepared with a spare tent sealed in a scroll.

The girl quickly set up the tent and made a makeshift campsite in the forests, and Shinichi was once again baffled by how efficient she worked.

The kunoichi then looked at her client, "Sleep in the tent, I'll keep watch outside."

Shinichi blinked, "Eh? Then what about you?"

Suguha made a small fire jutsu and made a camp fire, "I'll keep watch here, just in case bandits come attack us. Besides, meditating is enough rest."

Shinichi wanted to protest but the girl raised her hand, stopping him, "I appreciate the sentiment, but I am a kunoichi, I learned to adapt to different situations and all those stuff, besides, its my job."

The young man just nodded and reluctantly head into the tent, where he laid down and slept. Meanwhile outside, Suguha just tended to the fire as she kept watch.

This was actually the first time she went on a solo mission, and to be honest it was going fine. But then again, she didn't expect much anyways. Even if it was a C-rank, solo missions were often lower than average missions, hence why they could do the mission solo.

Besides, the girl just didn't felt like taking the break, even if the others wanted it. Suguha then looked at the tent, where the young man was sleeping. She knew he had most probably lived a sheltered life, his reaction upon seeing the thugs earlier just proved it.

The girl sighed and just closed her eyes, meditating as she made sure to be careful as to not fall asleep.

The next day, Shinichi opened his eyes groggily and went out of the tent. The young man stepped out of the tent and saw Suguha stretching, without most of her armour on.

He could only blush as he took notice of the kunoichi's impressive curves until she noticed him. Suguha greeted, "Good morning, Shinichi-san."

The young man had to mentally smack himself before he stuttered, "G-good morning."

Suguha finished her stretching and quickly put on her armour before she asked, "So, are you ready to go?"

Shinichi nodded, "Of course."

The kunoichi nodded before she sealed the tent away in the scroll before she put on her armor and strapped her sword to her waist, "Okay, let's get moving then."

The young man didn't argue and they quickly continued on their way. As they walked, Shinichi couldn't help but stare at the girl from the back.

After some time, as they were nearing his village, the young man asked, "Umm, Suguha-san, you said your life involves a lot of fighting, right?"

The kunoichi blinked, "Hmm, yeah, I did say that."

Shinichi nodded before he asked, "Don't you ever get tired of it?"

Suguha hmm'd before she answered, "A bit, I guess."

Shinichi then hesitated a bit before he gathered the courage, "T-then, how about stop being a kunoichi and come live with me? I mean, my parents and grandparents will definitely welcome you!"

Suguha blinked in surprise at that blatant proposal, the fact that he was blushing up a storm just proves it.

Seeing Suguha not replying, the young man proceeded to try to convince her when Suguha held up both hands, "Okay just stop!"

Shinichi blinked and was about to say something before Suguha cut him off, "First of all, we just met a day ago, so you don't know me, and I don't know you. Second, I may have said I do get tired of constant fighting, but that doesn't mean I want to quit being a ninja. And finally, I already have a boyfriend."

Shinichi looked down before he just nodded, "I see."

Suguha sighed and rubbed her temples, the girl was thankful most of her fanboys, along with most of Asuna, Sinon and Hikari's fanboys, had got over them, but this was taking it to another level.

The girl said, "Come on, we're almost there."

Soon, they reached the village and Shinichi noticed something wrong. At the gates were two men, obviously thugs, guarding the village. Another huge problem was that the usual lively village was silent, abnormally silent.

As Shinichi tried to go to the village, Suguha quickly pulled him back and pulled him into the forests. The young man asked, "What was that for?"

Suguha frowned, "Keep quiet. Its obvious something bad happened, it could be the enemy."

Shinichi's eyes widened, "E-enemies?"

The kunoichi nodded before the young man started to panic. The girl sighed, "Stay calm, I'll check if the enemy is a ninja or not."

Shinichi's eyes widened again, "Eh, but its dangerous for you to go in alone!"

Suguha grinned, "Who said anything about me going in?"

The young man blinked before Suguha stepped back and bit her thumb, smearing her palm with blood before she went through a set of seals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

In a poof of smoke, a small eagle appeared. Suguha smiled, "Razor."

The small eagle nodded, "Suguha-san, what do you need?"

The girl pointed at the village, "I need you to scout the village, check for any notable things, thugs, ninja, anything that can be an enemy."

The bird nodded, "It shall be done."

He then took off and flew towards the village. Suguha then turned to see Shinichi's gaping face. The short man said in awe, "That bird... Just talked..."

Suguha just giggled, "Well, he is a summon after all."

The man didn't know how to respond as they just waited. Soon, after a moment, the eagle returned. Suguha asked, "So, what have you got?"

Razor nodded, "The village is filled with thugs, probably took over the village a while ago. The civilians are all monitored, but still can carry out their daily activities. I also noticed that they have to constantly pay the thugs."

Suguha nodded, ignoring Shinichi's yelp of shock, "Enemies?"

Razor nodded, "Roughly 70 thugs in the village, nothing you cannot handle. Its just the shinobi who rules over them, he's a Jounin with a huge sword."

Suguha nodded, "I see. If its just me, what are the odds of winning?"

Razor considered the idea before he answered, "If its just you, you can take care of the thugs easily, but I suppose you would be a bit tired when facing the Jounin. That is, if you went in all alone."

Suguha smiled, "If we bring in some of your friends?"

Razor smirked, "Then our victory is assured."

The kunoichi nodded, at least she didn't have to call for backup from the village. On a side note, she hoped Tsunade wouldn't be too mad, since her mission was to escort and ensure the safety of the client until they reached the village, well, saving his village from enemies in the process would be within mission boundaries... Probably.

Suguha then turned to Shinichi, "Well, it should be manageable on my own. So don't worry, we'll take back your village."

The shorter man just nodded before the girl turned to Razor again, "So, any ideas when we should strike?"

The eagle replied, "Any time should be fine. They seem relaxed, as if they are not afraid of anything."

Suguha nodded, "I see. Then, we'll strike in ten minutes, tell your friends to get ready."

The eagle grinned and vanished in a poof of smoke. Suguha then looked at Shinichi, "Shinichi-san, I want you to stay here, stay quiet, and wait until I come get you. Got it?"

The civilian nodded, knowing full well he would only hinder the kunoichi if he did otherwise. The girl nodded in satisfaction before she checked on her equipment, which were mostly unused throughout this mission, so she had plenty to work with.

After 10 minutes, she summoned Razor again. The girl asked, "So, are we ready?"

The eagle nodded, "Yes."

Suguha grinned, "Cool."

She then turned towards the village and bit her thumb, smearing her palm with blood. The kunoichi then went through a set of seals and slammed her palm on the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Smoke covered the area, and in an instant, an army of eagles appeared. Shinichi could only stare in awe as Suguha summoned her army of eagles.

The girl just nodded to them, and the eagles shot into the sky.

To the thugs, the leader of the gang, an arrogant man named Kanamoto Atsushi, he was a Jounin, formerly of Kirigakure. But because of the bloodline war, he had fled and found himself leading a group of thugs. The man didn't bother returning to Kirigakure after hearing that Terumi Mei had become the new Mizukage, besides, he liked his freedom.

In addition, raiding villages like this was quite fun, not to mention he had a bunch of loyal idiots, as long as you paid them of course. With that, as long as he didn't run into ninja stronger than Chunnin, he could do whatever he wanted.

Just a few days ago, he managed to take over this village, and now he had a base, a bunch of slaves, his own army, and a whole load of cash, the fact that no one in the village could stand up to him just made it better. Life couldn't be better for him. All he was missing was a hot piece of ass.

Then Atsushi was brought out of his musings by a yell from his thugs, "Holy shiet! What's with these birds?!"

The former Kiri ninja looked up to see a whole flock of eagles circling the air above them. Atsushi blinked in confusion, wondering what they were doing, before all the eagles did a nose dive and shot towards the thugs.

Hell broke loose, as the eagles slaughtered his army of bandits. While they had numbers, they were absolutely abysmal at fighting, especially if they were taken off guard by an army of eagles. Atsushi growled in frustration as he yelled, "Group up!"

None of them listened and continued running around like headless chickens, picked off one by one by the eagles as they screamed in fear and agony.

Then a voice drew his attention, "So, you're the one in charge here?"

The nuke-nin turned and saw a young woman with neck length black hair, wearing a customized set of light green Anbu armour with a Konoha headband around her neck, she also had a katana in her hands.

The kunoichi also had an amused face, showing that she was most probably the one responsible for the eagles. Atsushi growled, "You did this, those eagles, didn't you?!"

Suguha just smiled, "Of course, your army of thugs versus my army of eagles, quite a sight, right?"

The man growled and charged the girl, throwing a fist at her. Suguha easily dodged the punch before she tripped her, making him fall to the ground.

Suguha jumped away as the man tried to take her legs off with a pair of kunai before she raised her sword to block several shuriken.

The man quickly got up and flashed through a set of handseals, "Kirigakure no Jutsu!"

Instantly, mist filled the village, and even though it did well to hide the former Kiri nin, it did nothing to cover the thugs, as the eagles were still picking them off one by one.

Suguha immediately stayed on guard, careful to check her surroundings, even if she could barely see past 5 feet.

Then, all of a sudden, a figure appeared behind her, the shadow that loomed over her being the only warning, before Atsushi tried to stab her with a sword he picked up from one of his fallen thugs.

But Suguha knew it was coming, and she glided away from the attack before she spun and gave a slash to the nuke ninja's abdomen, leaving a relatively huge gash.

The man grunted in pain as blood dripped to the floor. He cursed as he leaped away, as he continued to constantly move around stealthily. However, unlike previously, now Suguha could actually hear him, most of the time from the blood dripping on the floor.

Then all of a sudden, the movement stopped, and the kunoichi could feel the man directly behind her. Then Suguha moved. Charging wind chakra into her sword, she turned and swung her blade hard.

The wind released from the blade blew away all the mist, revealing all the thugs on the floor, either headless or clawed to death. And in front of Suguha, was Atsushi, his body in half as his blood stained the floor.

The swordswoman gracefully flicked the blood off her katana and sheathed her sword. Suguha then turned to her summons with a pleased smile, "Thanks guys."

The eagles all nodded before they vanished in a poof of smoke. Suguha then turned as she heard the doors of many buildings open, revealing the villagers who had noticed the lack of screams.

As soon as they came out, the villagers were greeted with the sight of Suguha standing in the middle of all the dead thugs.

One brave soul, a young boy, asked, "Umm, excuse me, did you defeat them?"

Suguha looked at the boy and nodded, "Yeah, you're free."

Silence filled the area for a moment before cheers erupted through the village. Every villager thanked Suguha for disposing of the bandits and the girl just took it in.

After a while, as the villagers finally stopped thanking her and went to clean the village, Suguha went back to where she left Shinichi and saw the young man smiling.

The young man said, "Thank you, Suguha-san."

The kunoichi nodded, "Of course, its just a part of my mission."

The young man nodded and headed back for his village. Suguha said again, "If that's all, then I'm leaving, okay?"

Shinichi nodded, he wanted to ask her to stay again, but decided not to. She had made it quite clear after all. Suguha nodded and vanished from sight, to the young man's disappointment.

Meanwhile, in Konoha, Tsunade was looking at a scroll, "Hmm, so the Raikage wants to have a joint mission, to improve village relations. Why not?"

At the same time, in an unknown location, the leader of the Akatsuki was talking to two men, one had silver hair with a huge three pronged scythe, while the other man had a face mask and a grey hood that covered his hair. The man with the scythe had a slashed headband from Yugakure while the masked man had a slashed headband from Takigakure.

Pein said, "Hidan, Kakuzu, its time to hunt the Niibi."

XXX

Done. So that's the filler chapter. Next will be the official start of the Niibi sub-arc. Review please.


	37. Chapter 37

Hey. So this is the 37th chapter.

 **BlackCrystal06** , somewhat the calm before the storm, I mean, I was going to have Kirito, Asuna, Sinon or Hikari go as backup, but then, I thought, how about just putting all focus on Suguha for that one chapter. And Shinichi, who is actually Recon in cannon, havin a crush on Suguha, why not? XDXD

So yeah, let's start with the next chapter.

XXX

A few days later, Tsunade was in her office, looking at a scroll from the Raikage. Just as they agreed a few days ago, the two villages were going to have a joint mission between a team, as a way to improve village relations.

The mission was simple, the two teams would meet up and wipe out a camp of bandits somewhere at the borders of Hi no Kuni. And if Tsunade was right, which she probably was, Ay would most likely either send the Niibi Jinchurikii or the Hachibi Jinchurikii. That was also something Tsunade was planning to do, send Hikari with a team.

The woman nodded to herself and spoke, "Anbu, bring me Hikari, Kirito, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha. Tell them they have a mission."

The Anbu in hiding immediately vanished to bring the five people mentioned. In less than ten minutes, the five arrived at Tsunade's office, all prepared and ready to roll.

Tsunade said, "Okay, a few days ago, the Raikage and I decided to have a joint mission between villages, to improve relations between our villages. We've decided on the mission, so I'm sending the five of you on this."

Hikari nodded, "So when do we leave?"

Tsunade nodded, "I leave that to you, but you are scheduled to meet tomorrow at noon here."

She slipped a piece of paper containing the adress and coordinates of the rendezvous point before she said, "I'll leave it to you to decide who'll be the leader. Good luck."

The five nodded before they were dismissed and left the room.

At the same time, in Kumogakure, in the Raikage's office, Ay was looking at four of his shinobi, one was a blonde woman long, straight, hair bound with taut bandages and dark eyes. This was Nii Yugito, the Jinchurikii of the Niibi, more importantly, a loyal ninja of Kumogakure.

The other three were all men, all wearing the standard Kumogakure uniform, one had dark grey spiky hair, the second one had long dark blue hair that was tied into a small ponytail and the last man had black hair in a military cut.

The one with dark grey spiky hair was Kouga. The one with the blue ponytail was Jinga and the one with the military cut was Daigo.

Ay spoke, "A few days ago, the Hokage and I decided we'd have a joint mission. So, here's the mission, you four, are to meet up with the Konoha team and wipe out the bandit camp somewhere on Hi no Kuni."

Yugito nodded and took the scroll, which had the necessary info they needed. The woman nodded to her leader, "Is there anything else, Raikage-sama?"

The man shook his head, "No, just to inform you by the way, you are to meet them tomorrow at noon."

Yugito nodded and turned, "Let's go. Pack up for a few days, we'll be on an extermination mission."

The three men nodded and followed the blonde out of the room, none of the aware of the figure with the tell tale robe of the Akatsuki vanishing into the ground, chuckling darkly and gleefully at the same time.

A while later, in Amegakure, Zetsu had just finished reporting his findings to Pein. The Rinnegan user nodded, "Hmm, I see. Relay what you've just told me to Hidan and Kakuzu."

Zetsu nodded, "Yes sir."

Right before he could leave however, Pein added, "Keep an eye on Hidan and Kakuzu, knowing how good the Jinchurikii of the Niibi is, they might kill her before we can extract the beast, especially Hidan."

Zetsu grinned/smirked, the black part said, "If they do kill her, we will seal the Niibi away in one of our clones."

Pein nodded, "Good. Dismissed."

The plant man immediately vanished and Pein was left to his own thoughts. Konan was somewhere in the village, probably wandering or helping with the poor citizens in the village. The woman's kindness was one of his few anchors, to keep him aware that regardless of his power, he was still human.

The fact that his real body was in his room resting was further proof of that.

The man's thoughts then went to the Niibi. They had postponed their project since the Sanbi had died during the civil war in Kirigakure a while ago, and Zetsu had reported that the Sanbi had reformed, but had went into hiding.

Pein decided he would deal with it when the time came, now he needed to make sure they got the Niibi, he really didn't want to wait for another year, possibly even more, because Hidan or Kakuzu couldn't hold in their temper.

The man's thoughts then wandered to his cousin... Or is it a niece? Anyways, Hikari had successfully killed off Deidara and Sasori, or at least, her team did. That spoke a lot of her skills, since the teams in Konohagakure tended to be formed according to their strengths, and teams were always balanced. So if the teams could kill two members of the Akatsuki, Hikari's strength probably wasn't that far off, maybe even stronger.

The Rinnegan user knew, if a bijuu was extracted from an Uzumaki, they would survive for quite an amount of time before they died, which would only happen if they had their bijuu extracted when they had low levels of chakra or didn't receive basic amount of medical care.

And Nagato didn't wish for the last of his relatives to die off. He would ensure Hikari lived when they got the Kyuubi, all that's left, was to see if the girl would join them, or if he had to take the bijuu forcefully.

The next day, Yugito and her team were at the rendezvous point. The team from Konoha wasn't here yet, since Yugito and her team were ahead of schedule by half an hour.

Daigo sighed, "I guess we're early."

Jinga nodded and he looked around, "But damn, it seems really quiet."

Kouga nodded, "True, but then, that's how it is here. I mean, if I remember correctly, this was one of the more less populated areas, right, Yugito-san?"

The blonde didn't reply, instead, she was focused on two figures in front of her that suddenly appeared some distance in front of them. Kouga asked, "Yugito-san, is that?"

Yugito narrowed her eyes, "Akatsuki." 'It's just as you said, Matatabi, they captured the Ichibi, now they're out for us.'

The Niibi in the seal nodded, "Yeah. What do you want to do, Yugito?"

Yugito smirked mentally, 'If we run, they'll just continue following us anyways, how about we kill them here and now?'

The Niibi grinned, "I like your way of thinking."

Yugito just nodded before she said aloud, "Kouga, Daigo, Jinga, we're ending them here."

The three men nodded. They knew the Akatsuki would be out for any Jinchurikii, and Yugito was their friend, their comrade. If she wanted to deal with them here and now, they would follow her to the end.

Hidan chuckled as he heard that, "Oi, Kakuzu, you hear that? They're gonna end us."

The man nodded, "Yeah, let's see if they have what it takes."

Hidan smirked, "Then, don't get in my way until I get a sacrifice."

Kakuzu just nodded, and immediately, Hidan charged forward, his scythe in hand. Daigo quickly whipped out a kunai and clashed blades with the nuke nin.

Hidan then smirked as he pulled hard. The Kumo ninja managed to leap away, dodging any fatal injuries aside from a nick on his cheek.

Hidan chuckled darkly as he saw the cut on the man's cheek, as well as the small amount of blood in his scythe. The man laughed gleefully, "Finally! Time for a sacrifice for JASHIN-SAMA!"

He licked the blood off the blade as he started to draw a ritual circle with a triangle in the middle on the ground with red paint, or was it blood. As soon as he finished, Hidan's skin turned black, and skull marks appeared over his body.

Kakuzu stared on passively, but he was ready to move at any moments' notice.

Hidan giggled gleefully, "Now, let the ritual begin!"

Yugito narrowed her eyes, wary of the weird transformation. But her teammates didn't share the sentiment. Kouga yelled, "Let's go!"

The three men immediately charged forward, Kouga holding a chokuto, Jinga holding a katana while Daigo held his kunai.

The three swung their blades at the man, but Hidan easily blocked it with his scythe, holding them in place. The man then slowly drew a small cylinder from his robes before he flipped it open, extending into a spear.

Hidan smirked maniacally, specifically at Daigo... Before stabbed himself in the thigh.

Immediately, a scream of pain sounded through the area, but it wasn't from Hidan. No... It was from Daigo as blood seeped through his thigh.

The man immediately dropped his kunai in pain and fell to the ground, clutching his injured leg.

Kouga yelled in concern, "Daigo!"

However before anyone could do anything, Hidan swung his retractable spear, forcing the two away, leaving Daigo at the mercy of the mad man. But Hidan didn't bother to move, instead, he just laughed, "How is it? Painful, isn't it?! Let me hear your screams!"

The man then stabbed the spear into his shoulder, earning another scream of pain from the fallen man. This worried and confused Daigo's teammates, as Hidan didn't touch him at all, instead, the man just hurt himself, and Daigo apparently suffered from the same injuries.

Yugito cursed, 'What is this?! How is he doing that?!'

Then she realized it, Hidan never did move from his position. She needed to find a way to move Hidan from the circle, but without further injuring Daigo.

Yugito thought, 'Damn it, now I really wish I had Hikari's chakra chains...'

Regardless of her thoughts, Yugito sped forward, aiming a punch for Hidan's face. But the mad man wasn't just about to let her punch him. As the fist came, Hidan blocked it with the shaft of his scythe before he swung his spear at the girl, forcing him to jump away.

Then in an instant, Yugito appeared in front of Hidan, or rather, below him, as she kicked him hard in the chin, sending hin flying up into the air.

Yugito didn't let the chance slip, as she jumped and yelled, "Kouga, Jinga!"

The two men immediately acted, flashing through handseals as they yelled in unison, "Raiton: Rairyudan no Jutsu!"

Two huge dragons made of lightning formed and charged at the airborne immortal. The two dragons slammed into the man, seemingly electrocuting him as he fell to the ground.

Yugito landed and thought, 'Did we get him?'

Then all of a sudden, Hidan's eyes opened as his scythe shot off the ground for Yugito. The girl quickly bent backwards, thanks to the flexibility from the Niibi, and barely dodged the blade as it passed by her face.

The girl turned and got on all fours before she pushed herself off the ground, dodging another slash from the scythe.

As she landed, Kouga and Jinga went to stand beside her as they stared down at Hidan. The girl noticed that the scythe seemed to be moving according to Hidan's orders as a wire was connected to his sleeves.

The woman also noticed that Hidan's skin had returned to normal the moment she got him off the circle, which meant she was right.

Then, the scythe shot out again. The three Kumo shinobi wordlessly scattered away, dodging the blade as the two men charged Hidan. Yugito quickly went through handseals as her teammates charged the man, "Katon: Nezumi Kedama!"

She spat out a blue flaming ball in the shape of a mouse that sped towards the man. As Kouga and Jinga clashed blades with Hidan, the two quickly jumped away and allowed the flaming mouse to split into a dozen smaller fireballs, burning the man.

However, that wasn't enough as Hidan was still standing, a mad smile on his face. The Jashinist laughed, "Is that it?! SHOW ME MORE! GIVE A SACRIFICE WORTHY OF JASHIN-SAMA!"

The man swung his scythe, throwing it at Yugito, but the girl quickly extended her claws and parried the blade away making it fall to the ground before she charged the man.

Hidan smirked and charged forward, holding his spear as he did so. The two clashed attacks several times before Yugito noticed the glint of metal from behind, Kouga and Jinga also yelled in concern, alerting her of its presence.

The woman smirked in triumph and quickly fell on all fours, dodging the blade as she heard the sound of the scythe piercing through flesh. Then she saw the red circle with the triangle on the floor, with Hidan's legs standing above it.

The woman turned and looked at Daigo. The injured man had blood flowing out of his abdomen as he clutched his stomach in pain, vomiting blood at the same time.

Yugito gasped, "H-how?!"

The two other men were also shocked, as they had made sure to keep Hidan away from the circle.

The man laughed maniacally, "I COULD HAVE ALWAYS DRAWN A NEW CIRCLE, YOU FUCKING IDIOTS!"

Hidan's leg lashed out as he kicked Yugito hard in the face, sending her flying away, crashing into the ground face first.

Kouga and Jinga immediately charged forward as Hidan raised his spear. The mad man sighed, "I guess I've had enough fun, TIME TO OFFER THE SACRIFICE TO JASHIN-SAMA!"

The two men roared as they rushed to stop him, "No!"

But they were too late, as the spear pierced through Hidan's heart, killing Daigo on the spot. Yugito got up from the ground and stared in shock as Daigo fell to the ground, dead.

Kouga roared in anger as he charged Hidan, his chokuto ready to cut him to pieces. But before he could even get with a meter from Hidan, a hand grabbed his face, slamming him onto the ground.

Kakuzu spoke as he held the Kumo ninja onto the ground, "Hey, Hidan. You're done, right?"

Hidan let out a breath in satisfaction and nodded, "Yeah. You can join in."

The masked man nodded and cracked his neck, blocking Kouga's chokuto with his arm, "Good, I wanna stretch my legs."

Then before anyone could react, Kakuzu flung Kouga into the air, slamming into Jinga as the two were sent to the ground.

As the man slowly approached the men, Yugito cursed, 'Matatabi!'

The bijuu didn't need another word as Yugito grew a blue flaming tail, her claws sharpening even more. The girl then vanished in a burst of speed, aiming to slice Kakuzu's head off.

But before she could, Hidan appeared in front of her, and her claws clashed with Hidan's scythe. The man smirked, "Oi oi! Its Kakuzu's turn, you know?! Like me, no one can interfere!"

Yugito just growled as she kicked the scythe away and charge past the man. But before she could, wire wrapped around her waist and pulled her back, swinging her into the ground.

Yugito growled as she struggled before she was flung away into one of the buildings.

With Kakuzu, the two men had recovered and charged him again. The masked man blocked every punch, kick or slash from the two men. Then he held out his two hands and grabbed the two men in the face and slammed them onto the ground.

Not giving them time to recover, he flung both of them up into the air as he went through a set of handseals. He breathed in before he unleashed the jutsu, "Katon: Zukkoku!"

The man released a huge wave of flames that went to engulf the two. But before it could, the two men vanished in a blurr of blue.

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes as he spotted Yugito landing onto the ground with Kouga and Jinga. Kakuzu turned his head slightly at Hidan and spoke calmly, "Hidan..."

The man just huffed and didn't reply before he went to stand beside his partner. Kakuzu shook his head and sighed, "Whatever... Playtime's over. Let's just get this over with."

Yugito cursed as she kept her eyes on the two nuke nin. She then said, "Kouga, Jinga... I need you to go find the Konoha team. They're probably the closest thing we have to back up now."

Jinga wanted to protest, but Kouga held him back and nodded, "Got it."

Yugito nodded and Kouga quickly grabbed Jinga and leaped away. As they ran, Jinga growled, "Kouga! Why did you leave her there?!"

The man kept running, holding Jinga tight so that he wouldn't go back, "If we stayed there, we would just be getting in her way. We're up against two S-ranked nuke ninja, and Yugito going all out is our best bet."

As if on cue, the two heard the loud roar of the Niibi, as blue flames shot up from where Yugito was. Kouga said again, "Let's just hope Konoha's Jinchurikii is with the team."

Meanwhile, with the team from Konoha, in Hikari's seal, the Kyuubi's eyes widened as he sensed the chakra from the Niibi. The bijuu said urgently, "Hikari, the Niibi is in trouble."

Hikari nodded, she felt the burst of bijuu chakra after all, "Guys, we need to hurry."

The other four nodded as they had also felt the burst of chakra. It'd take an idiot to not be able to sense it. As they increased their pace, Kirito spotted two Kumo ninja moving towards them.

They stopped in front of each other and Kouga asked, "Hey, are you the team we're supposed to meet up with?"

Kirito nodded and was about to say something when Jinga asked loudly, "Is the Kyuubi Jinchurikii here?!"

Hikari nodded, "I am the Kyuubi's Jinchurikii."

Kouga nodded, "We need to hurry, Yugito-san is fighting two Akatsuki members, I don't think she can hold them off any longer."

The Konoha team nodded before they heard a loud explosion. No more words were needed as they sped back towards the rendezvous point.

Meanwhile, back with Yugito, the kunoichi was shocked. She had managed to set up explosion tags all over the area as she held Hidan and Kakuzu back. Then she released a wave of flames second only to that of the Amateratsu flames, which would have burned both of them alive.

Hell, the flames would have destroyed their bodies before they knew they were dead! But there they were, standing there, with burns on their bodies, but their stances told her that the injuries were nothing to them.

Yugito cursed in her mind. She was already tired from their previous bout, and transforming into bijuu form was quite tiring for her, plus with the damage she received from Hidan and Kakuzu, it would only be a matter of time before her link with Matatabi gave out.

And as if fate wanted to screw with her, Yugito felt the familiar chakra of the Niibi leave her system, reverting her to her normal form.

(Note. Yugito has a decent mastery of the bijuu form. But having fought against Hidan and Kakuzu for around half an hour, she would feel tired, thus she won't be able to keep the bijuu form on for long.)

The woman shrunk back to her normal size as she heard her friend apologies, "Sorry, Yugito. That's as far as we can go."

The woman shook her head, but didn't answer. She didn't blame the bijuu. But that didn't matter now, due to having forced out of Bijuu mode, Yugito was even more fatigued that before, but apparently Hidan and Kakuzu had a whole lot more stamina.

Hidan smirked, "Ran outta gas, bitch?"

Yugito just glared at him. Then all of a sudden, Hidan appeared in front of her and grabbed her by the neck, holding her up.

Kakuzu spoke, "Hidan, we cannot kill her yet."

The man turned to his partner, "I know I know."

Then just as he was about to turn his head back, the woman quickly extended her claws and sliced his wrist off and attempted to slice his head off.

But Yugito was a tad bit too slow, as Hidan's eyes widened in anger as his hand fell to the ground, then before he knew it, the man had slammed his scythe into Yugito's abdomen, sending her flying away into the trees.

Kakuzu growled, "Hidan..."

The man blinked, "Sorry..."

As if on cue, Zetsu appeared from the ground, Black Zetsu sighing, "I knew this would happen, whatever, good thing I'm here. We can just seal the Niibi in one of my clones first, then we go back and seal it away."

Meanwhile, as the Konoha team and the two Kumo ninja raced through the trees, they spotted a person flying straight at them. The figure skidded across the floor before coming to a stop, and the Kumo ninja and Hikari recognised her.

Kouga said in worry, "Yugito!"

Everyone quickly jumped to the ground to Yugito's side, and they were shocked to see the three huge holes in Yugito's abdomen, blood flowing out rapidly.

Asuna, having had a bit of medical training, immediately tried to keep the blood from flowing out, trying to patch the wound. But the wound was too deep, and the blood didn't stop flowing out.

Yugito shook her head, "Its fine. I won't last too long."

Everyone kept silent, they knew she was right. They didn't have a medical ninja with them, with how bad Yugito's injuries were, they wouldn't even be able to carry her to a nearby village without further injuring the woman.

Yugito looked at Hikari, "Hikari, you told me, a friend of yours, has a deep connection with cats, right?"

Hikari nodded and turned to Sinon.

Matatabi's eyes widened as she realized what her friend was trying to do, "Yugito! No, I will not leave you!"

The woman smiled and thought, 'Matatabi, you are my friend. Yes, if we die, you will eventually reform. But, no one knows if the Akatsuki will be ahead of them and capture you. Its safer to be with them, besides, we don't have any other choice. The Akatsuki are coming.'

The Niibi stayed silent for a while. Yugito wasn't wrong, but the woman had approached her as a friend, that meant a lot to the bijuu. The cat thought a while before she nodded, "Fine, I will do as you wish, my friend."

Yugito nodded and looked at Sinon, "You're Hikari's family, so I know you will treat her well. That's why, I want you to seal the Niibi, Matatabi into your body. That will keep her safe from the Akatsuki for now."

Kouga and Jinga looked surprised, and while their first reaction would be to protest, mostly due to the fact that Kumo would lose a bijuu, they forced themselves to stay quiet, mostly out of respect for the dying woman.

Sinon was also surprised, and after a look at Hikari, she nodded, "Okay, I'll do it."

Yugito nodded weakly, feeling herself slipping away, "Hikari..."

The Uzumaki nodded and quickly set to work, drawing seals on Yugito's original seal.

As the three women worked to transfer the Niibi, Kirito narrowed his eyes as he saw three figures moving to them, "They're here."

Kouga and Jinga turned and paled, they hadn't fought Zetsu, if he was half as strong as the zombie duo, they were screwed, or so they thought.

Kirito drew his swords, his mark pulsing as his eyes laid on Zetsu. Something about the plant man put him on edge, and it wasn't the fact that he was half plant, half man, nor was it the fact that he was half white and half black, not in a racist way, but literally. No, what set him off was something he felt like he should know, something ancient.

Kirito spoke, "Asuna, Suguha, you two handle the masked guy. You two, Kumo ninja, can you two fight?"

Kouga nodded, "I suppose so."

Jinga also nodded. Kirito nodded, "Good, I'll leave the man with the scythe to you, just hold them off until the girls are done. I'll handle the plant."

They didn't object, since they knew it was do or die, plus, they had reinforcements now, once the girls were done, maybe they'd retreat.

Asuna and Suguha stared at Kakuzu as they stood between him and the three girls with the Niibi. The treasurer of the Akatsuki said, "Move."

Asuna glared at him, "If you want to get to them, you'll have to get through us."

Suguha nodded as the two drew their swords. Kakuzu just narrowed his eyes before he charged, swinging his fist at the girls.

Asuna and Suguha instinctively jumped away, dodging the attack. Kakuzu then went through a set of seals, "Katon: Zukkoku!"

The man blew a huge wave of flames at them, but unlike Kouga or Jinga, Asuna was prepared, as she too went through a set of handseals, "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!"

Instantly, water gathered from the atmosphere and formed a large vortex of water that completely doused the flames before it charged

Kakuzu.

The man was slightly surprised that his jutsu was countered, but he didn't let it deter him. The man quickly leaped away and dodged the attack.

As Kakuzu leaped away, Asuna said, "Suguha-chan, we need sage mode."

Suguha nodded, it didn't hurt to be extra careful, since they had no idea on how strong Kakuzu really was. As Kakuzu landed, the two girls focused, letting the nature chakra flow into them as they entered their respective sage modes.

The nuke nin raised an eyebrow at the change. It felt a lot like Hashirama's sage mode when he fought him, and while they were certainly stronger than before, the girls were considerably weaker than the First Hokage.

However, that was enough for them to beat him. In a blink of an eye, Asuna and Suguha appeared beside Kakuzu, flanking him, swords poised to strike.

Kakuzu cursed and raised his left forearm to block a slash from Suguha and raised his palm to block a stab from Asuna. But unfortunately for the man, the girls had infused their swords with water and wind chakra respectively, and the rapier pierced through his arm while the katana cleanly sliced off Kakuzu's left arm.

The nuke nin growled as his tendrils shot out of his 'wounds', shooting at the girls. But Asuna and Suguha were ready, as they leaped away while slashing at the tendrils, ripping them to shreds.

The girls landed before they charged again.

Meanwhile, Kirito was fighting against Zetsu. Regardless of the bulky venus trap on him, the plant man was proving to be quite agile.

Kirito jumped away dodged a swipe from the trap (Get it? Trap? XD). The swordsman stared at the plant, "What are you? You aren't human."

Zetsu smirked/grinned, the white half said, "Oh, so you can feel what we are?"

Black Zetsu chuckled darkly, "If you can sense what we are, then I suppose we will have to dispose of you."

The inhumane aura Zetsu was letting out increased, but apart from Kirito, none of the others could feel. The swordsman's eyes narrowed, and he channeled into his mark, causing his eyes to glow yellow as a faint yellow aura covered his body.

Black Zetsu raised his eyebrow in interest, he had seen him use it when he spied on Hikari's family, and while he knew it gave Kirito quite the power up, there may still be something that he has yet to have seen.

In a blink of an eye, Kirito glowed red/orange and reappeared in front of Zetsu, blades raised to strike. Zetsu managed to lean back just in time to dodge the slash and he quickly spun, swinging his spiked venus trap in an attempt to push him away.

It worked, as Kirito jumped away. But as soon as he landed, Kirito raised his right hand, "Ignest!"

A magic circle appeared in front of his hand and shot several fireballs at the plant man. Zetsu responded by sinking into the ground, dodging the attack before Kirito had to jump up to dodge an attack from the ground by Zetsu.

As they were about to continue, they were interrupted by a burst of bijuu chakra, and everyone turned to see two girls shrouded in the red boiling chakra of the Bijuu.

XXX

Done. So that's the latest chapter. I wonder how many people expected Sinon becoming the Niibi's Jinchurikii? Tell me if it was expected or not.

Anyways, the next chapter will be the second part of the fights. So yeah, until then. Review please, and don't forget to vote for the next story I'll be doing after this, its on my profile page. Ciao.


	38. Chapter 38

Hey. So I've finally finished college, feels great, feels kinda empty. But at least I have more time to work on the stories.

 **Flo463** , yeah, Orochimaru will do a lot to get Sasuke and Kirito. And about the Shinichi and Suguha thing, erm, I guess... I mean, Kirito and Suguha are not blood related here. And well, I did make it a one sided thing with Shinichi, so yeah... And yep, Sinon's the new Niibi Jinchurikii. Well, Kirito would definitely work harder, but given how they'd be stronger than him eventually, that is, without anything to help him grow, he wouldn't need to. But don't worry, Kirito will get stronger, its Kirito after all. Hehe.

To **Guest** , yeah, if Sinon gets the Niibi extracted, she'll die. But will the Akatsuki even get the chance to extract the Niibi? XDXD I leave that to your imagination.

To that other **Guest** , I suppose that does require weird physics. But just in case anyone misunderstood what I meant, I was thinking, Hidan swing his scythe, the blades stabbing into Yugito, and as he swung his blade, the momentum threw her off the blade into the forests.

XXX

As the two girls were surrounded by the bijuu chakra cloak, Zetsu tch'd. Black Zetsu sighed, "Well, this complicates shit..."

Kirito narrowed his eyes and charged, swinging his swords at the man as the plant dodged it again.

Meanwhile, Hikari and Sinon were glaring at Hidan. The Jashinist hadn't been able to kill the two Kumo ninja yet, well, he could have, but he was interrupted by the two girls.

The mad priest turned from the two tired men to see the two Jinchurikii cloaked in their chakra cloaks, both glaring at the man. Hidan laughed in glee, "ARE YOU TWO ALSO OFFERING YOURSELVES FOR JASHIN-SAMA?!"

They didn't reply, instead, Hikari glanced at Sinon, "Sinon-chan, let's go."

The new Jinchurikii of the Two Tails nodded, then they both charged. In an instant, the two Jinchurikii appeared in front of Hidan, and a pair of chakra shrouded fists slammed into Hidan's gut, sending him high up into the air.

As the man flew straight up, Matatabi asked Sinon, "Sinon, that man is immortal. No matter how much we burned him, he still came back. What will you do?"

Sinon smiled softly and thought, 'I think Hikari-chan has that covered.'

The Niibi nodded. Meanwhile, with Hikari, the Kyuubi smirked, "You haven't really completed it yet, you know? Do you really want to try it?"

Hikari nodded, 'Yeah, since he cannot die, we might as well just slice him up so much he cannot come back. And the only thing that can do that is the final version of the Fuuton: Rasengan.'

The Bijuu hmph'd, "Fine, since its also a jutsu based on the Bijuudama, I suppose I can give you another tip. All you've been able to do now, is add elemental chakra into the Rasengan, but its only the minimum amount you need to shape it into an elemental jutsu. The achieve the final version you're aiming for, you need to stabilize the huge amounts of elemental chakra in the Rasengan, I don't think I need to tell you that anyways. So, all this time you've been doing it in one hand, or two hands in some occasions. How about three, or four?"

Hikari blinked, 'What do you mean?'

The Kyuubi chuckled, "Figure it out yourself. That's all I'm giving you. If you can't even perfect this imitation of the Bijuudama, then you won't be able to fully master my Bijuu mode."

With that, the Kyuubi went silent. Hikari thought, 'Kyuubi? Hey Kyuubi?'

No response. The girl growled, "Damn it, what did he mean?"

Hidan was starting to fall, and it would only be a matter of time before he started swinging his scythe around like the mad man he was. The girl then thought back on how she always made the Rasengan. It was always with one hand.

Then she realized it. The problem with her final version of the Rasengan was because she couldn't stabilize the wind chakra in it. In the beginning, when she added elements to the Rasengan, she had to do it with two hands before she managed to make it with one.

Hikari thought, 'I'm an idiot...'

She raised her right arm and quickly formed a Fuuton: Rasengan. Then, she made two chakra arms that slowly added the wind element to the Rasengan, the wind blades around the sphere slowly enlarging until it grew into the size of a Fuuma shuriken.

Hikari grinned, it was complete. The jutsu was incredibly stable in her hands, unlike the unstable versions which all felt heavy and hard to maintain. No, this was light and it was surprisingly easy to hold.

Unbeknownst to the girl, the Kyuubi smirked, "Hmph, she could do it after all..."

Back outside, almost everyone stared in awe at the Fuuma shuriken shaped Rasengan. Hikari grinned and roared as she flung the jutsu at Hidan, "Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!"

The Rasenshuriken sailed through the air before it collided with Hidan, and a huge explosion engulfed the man. In mere seconds, the man was sliced up by the wind blades caused by the jutsu over a thousand times, turning him to dust.

The explosion died down, and nothing was left of the Akatsuki member. Kakuzu could only stare in surprise at how Hidan was killed. True, he hated the priest, but Hidan was useful to have around as a partner, more specifically, an immortal punching bag that could actually give him a good fight.

Seeing Hidan turned to dust shocked him, making him momentarily freeze on the spot, ignoring Asuna, Suguha and the others on the battlefield.

That was his mistake, as in a blink of an eye, Sinon was in front of him. And before he knew it, Kakuzu was sent flying by a chakra infused punch before he was pulled down by a chakra arm from Sinon, slamming him into the ground.

Kakuzu groaned in pain as he got up, but Sinon wasn't done. Taking advantage of his loss in balance, the archer used a chakra arm and sent him flying yet again.

As he was sent into the air, Sinon asked mentally, 'Matatabi, right? Is it okay if I call you that?'

The Niibi nodded, "Of course, what is it?"

Sinon nodded, 'Is it possible for me to use the full Bijuu mode?'

The Niibi smiled, "Why not? As of now, your body can probablt handle the strain for ten minutes, and that's with my help of course, since your body isn't used to it yet."

Sinon nodded, 'You don't mind, right?'

The bijuu chuckled, "I wouldn't let you if I did mind. Let's get started, we don't want that bastard to recover, yes?"

Sinon nodded before she felt more of the bijuu chakra enter her body, filling her chakra coils. Then her view changed. Everything seemed to get smaller for her and she started to rise.

Then she realized she was looking down at two blue flaming paws. Sinon blinked, "Wha?"

Then she heard the Niibi chuckle, "This is your first time transforming into a bijuu, right? You better get used to it, if you are to be my new partner, we're going to be equals, and that means you're gonna be using my powers."

The archer nodded before she turned her attention to the airborne nuke nin, a bit surprised at what he was doing. He had managed to make his tendrils as make shift wings, floating in midair.

Matatabi grinned, "Hey Sinon, wanna try the Bijuudama?"

The girl grinned as the bijuu started to gather red and blue chakra at its mouth, surprising everyone present. The two types of chakra combined to form a dark purple sphere in front of the Niibi's jaw.

Then Sinon released her hold on the Bijuudama, blasting it towards Kakuzu. The man tch'd and tried to push himself out of the line of fire, but his wings were too inefficient for flight and only managed to move him from the center of the blast.

Kakuzu had initially planned to stay at one spot, then dodge the attack at the last minute. But apparently he had miscalculated the size of the Bijuudama and how good his make shift wings would do, and that costed him all his hearts.

Then the bomb slammed into the man, and a huge explosion engulfed the man, leaving nothing but dust as the man who fought the Shodaime Hokage was obliterated by the power of the attack.

Zetsu sighed, seeing the supposedly immortal duo killed, "Well, I guess my job here is done."

The plant man started to sink into the ground. Kirito's eyes widened before he yelled as he charged forward, "Oh no you don't!"

However, he was too late as his blade only struck the ground as the man sunk into the ground. Kirito cursed and raised his sword, channelling chakra into it as he activated a sword skill, making the sword glow yellow, "Ground Calibur!"

(Look up Orb Ground Calibur from Ultraman Orb, I saw this move when my little cousin forced me to watch the show with him a while ago, and I thought, why not use it here? Haha, so what Kirito did is basically the part where he stabs the Elucidator into the ground. )

He stabbed his black sword into the ground, causing two streaks of energy to form a circle before the ground exploded. However, nothing came up, showing that Zetsu had most likely escaped.

Kirito cursed as that meant one morr Akatsuki member to deal with in the future, but it didn't matter much now. They had successfully killed two Akatsuki members, so it wasn't that bad.

He turned to see the other standing by Yugito's corpse and walked to them. Kirito looked at the two Kumo shinobi, "So, what are you two gonna do?"

While it was Yugito's wish, the fact that one of Kumo's bijuu, which as much as he hated to admit it was still considered an asset to the age, was being taken in by Sinon, who is a Konoha ninja, was very troublesome.

Plus, depending on how the Kumo ninja took it, Konoha could even be seen as taking advantage of the joint mission to steal the bijuu, which could lead to war.

Kouga stared at the peaceful face of the former Jinchurikii, "We'll tell Raikage-sama everything that happened. Hopefully he will understand and respect Yugito's wish."

No one needed to say that their original mission was a failure now, especially since the Kumo shinobi were both injured, not to mention two of the four Kumo ninja were dead.

Asuna then asked, "Do you want us to follow you back?"

Jinga shook his head, "No, it's fine. Besides, its better if you didn't. While we don't exactly have a civilian council, the elders will go crazy and demand Sinon-san to be sent to Kumo."

Kouga nodded, "Yeah."

The Konoha shinobi nodded as the two remaining Kumo ninja took the corpses of their teammates, albeit reluctantly, and left the area.

As the Kumo ninja left, Kirito turned to the girls, "So, what now?"

Suguha sighed, "Might as well just head back, we won't be doing the mission now with how things went. Hopefully this won't start a war."

The other girls nodded in agreement, while Sinon just felt a bit nervous since she was the one who had the Niibi in her.

Matatabi huffed upon feeling her new host's thoughts, "Sinon, feel proud, Yugito chose you, I chose you. Even the Raikage knows enough to respect Yugito's wishes, besides, if they try to force you to give me up, we can always launch a Bijuudama at that cursed village. Hell, maybe we can even convince the Hachibi and Kyubi to join."

Sinon sweatdropped, 'Erm, Matatabi, are you sure you should be saying that?'

The bijuu huffed, "Of course, while Yugito is respected there, its only because of how strong she is, and because the Hachibi's Jinchurikii is the Raikage's brother. While Yugito never noticed it, since everyone treated her normally, I could feel the animosity from those idiots, especially the elders of the village."

Sinon nodded, not really knowing what to say. She was then cut off from her musings when she noticed her teammates were about to leave.

A few hours later, Kirito, Asuna, Hikari, Suguha and Sinon all stood in the Hokage's office. Tsunade sighed as she rubbed her temples, "Oh my fucking god... I send the five of you on a mission, hopefully to improve village relations, and you come back... With that village's fucking bijuu?!"

Jiraiya chuckled, "Well, its not their fault that Yugito chose Sinon as the next Jinchurikii of the Niibi."

Tsunade slumped onto her chair, "I know... That's what makes it worse..."

Jiraiya's face turned serious as he looked at Hikari, "On a side note, they went for the Niibi next. We managed to secure the bijuu this time, but no one knows if they will go for the Sanbi or attack us here to get the Niibi or the Kyuubi."

Hikari nodded, "But, aside from the fact that the Bijuu are strong, why would they want to collect them?"

Asuna looked at the blonde, "No idea, does the Kyuubi know?"

Hikari replied, "Let me ask."

She thought, 'Hey Kyubi, I know you're listening...'

No one answered her, and unknown to anyone, the two bijuu were in a shared mindscape, discussing the exact same topic.

In the mindscape, the Kyubi sighed, "Do we really need to tell them?"

Matatabi nodded, glaring slightly at her brother, "Of course, you sensed it, didn't you? Shukaku got sealed into the husk, that's the only clue we need. They are trying to revive the Juubi."

The Kyuubi hmph'd, "Fine, but you tell them."

With that said, the Kyuubi vanished from the shared mindscape, causing the cat to sigh again. The Niibi then vanished from the mindscape.

Moments later, right after Hikari asked the Kyuubi, Matatabi spoke in Sinon's mind, "Sinon, we know why the Akatsuki are gathering the bijuu, let me take over for a bit, and I'll explain."

The archer jumped a bit, not expecting the Niibi to suddenly speak up, plus she wasn't used to it yet. The brunette asked mentally, 'Wait, you do?'

She felt the Niibi nod mentally, "Yes, I'll explain everything, so I'll be taking control, is that okay?"

Sinon just nodded, before she felt as if something pushed her to the back, then she felt herself speak, but at the same time, it wasn't her.

The girl's eyes turned to a dark shade of blue, with slits in her eyes, making them look like a cat's eyes, slightly surprising everyone as they felt the girl leak bijuu chakra.

The girl opened her mouth and spoke, but her voice was different, much deeper than before. The Niibi spoke through her host, "There's probably only one other reason the Akatsuki are gathering us."

Tsunade stared at the girl, "That being?"

Matatabi nodded, "To revive the Juubi. Before us, there was one single bijuu, if you can call it that. I cannot tell you the details, but long story short, if they seal all of us nine bijuu together, they can revive the Juubi."

Everyone was surprised, they had never even heard of a tenth bijuu. Jiraiya looked at the Niibi, "But why go so far for one bijuu?"

Matatabi stared at the pervert in the eye, "The Juubi is a combination of all of the Bijuu. It is far stronger than any of us, and possibly stronger than all of us combined. I'd say one Bijuudama from the Juubi can destroy Konoha in one go, and that's just at minimum power ."

That was alarming to them. If the Akatsuki succeeded, then they'd have the world as hostage, since they could easily destroy any one at any time.

Jiraiya turned to Tsunade, "What if we get the bijuu before the Akatsuki can?"

Tsunade nodded, "I suppose we could."

Getting the bijuu away from them was a good option, at least better than just protecting the Jinchurikii of their respective villages. Matatabi sighed, "I guess its better than getting sealed to form the Juubi."

At that, the Kyuubi spoke up in Hikari's seal, "Hikari, let me speak for a moment."

The girl blinked, 'Umm, what?'

Immediately, the girl felt as if she was pushed to the back and she took on the features she'd have when she used less than one tail's worth of the Kyuubi's chakra.

Everyone was surprised by the sudden change as the Kyuubi spoke in his deep voice, which felt weird since it was coming from Hikari, "If you want to get our siblings, I want it to be done under several conditions."

Tsunade and Jiraiya shared a look, if it were twenty years ago, they wouldn't even thought of negotiating with the bijuu. Back then, it was widely known that the bijuu were weapons, living weapons maybe, but still weapons.

But after knowing Hikari, they knew the bijuu were as humane as they were. The Hokage nodded, "Okay, what are your conditions?"

The Kyuubi/Hikari nodded, "You'll bring Hikari with you, and we decide how my brethen will be dealt with, be it sealed in a Jinchurikii or live in the open."

Tsunade nodded, "But we'll have to monitor them, in case the Akatsuki comes for them."

The Kyuubi hmph'd, "That goes without saying of course. As of now, only the Sanbi is not sealed, the others, including myself, are all sealed in our respective Jinchurikii, and the Shukaku is in the Akatsuki's hands. I suggest we go find the Sanbi, at best I can convince him to join us."

Tsunade nodded, while the others just stayed silent as they watched the exchange, though Kirito was slightly freaked out by how Hikari/Kyuubi spoke in the deep voice.

The Kyuubi then narrowed his(her?) eyes, "But don't misunderstand me, to be honest with you, being sealed in a Jinchurikii is the safest place a bijuu can be now, given how the Akatsuki's gathering us to revive the bijuu. Plus, a seal is all it takes to immobilise us. We are NOT going to be your weapons."

Jiraiya nodded, "Of course, the Jinchurikii and the Bijuu are not weapons, you are all living beings just like we are, and if you would have us, comrades."

The Kyubi smirked, "Hmph, we'll see about that."

Then the bijuu heard Hikari scold him, "Oi Kyuubi, be nice..."

The bijuu chuckled internally before he spoke, "Well, that's all I have to say for now. Remember what I said, Hokage, toad, I will be watching you. Hikari trusts you because you are her godparents, and if you do anything that endangers us..."

He left the threat hanging, but Tsunade and Jiraiya got the message, besides, they wouldn't do anything that'd endanger the bijuu or Jinchurikii, especially sincr Hikari, and now Sinon, were involved.

With that said, the Kyuubi's presence vanished, and Hikari returned to normal. The Niibi also returned to the seal, seeing as she had nothing to say anymore.

Suguha then asked, "So, what now?"

Tsunade nodded to Jiraiya before she said, "Take the next two days off. Jiraiya will go search for the Sanbi, and we still have to see how the Raikage reacts to Sinon's new... partner. So I'll notify you when we get the news."

The five nodded before they left the room. As soon as they left, Tsunade slumped back onto her seat, "Gods... They never seem to stop causing trouble for me..."

Jiraiya chuckled, "Its Hikari we're talking about, not to mention Kirito as well. But to be frank, I believe Ay won't bother too much, since if I remember correctly, its Yugito who willingly gave Sinon the Niibi. Its Kumogakure's elders I'm worried about. They might just pull something like the Hyuga incident."

Tsunade nodded before she quickly wrote a letter to the Raikage.

At the same time, in Kumogakure, the two remaining Kumo ninja of the squad had just given their reports to the Raikage.

Ay's first reaction was to blow up, but seeing how his two ninja were exhausted, plus they had just witnessed two of their friends die in front of them, the Raikage decided to calm himself down.

The muscular man looked at his subordinates, "So, Yugito decided to give the Niibi to a Konoha kunoichi?"

Kouga nodded, "Yes, the girl's name is Sinon, she appeared to have close relations to the Kyubi's Jinchurikii."

Ay leaned onto his seat, if that was the case, then he had no doubt this Sinon was worthy of holding the bijuu. The problem, as much as he disliked it, the power. True, he prided himself for leading arguably the strongest shinobi village, tied and/or second only to Konohagakure.

That was when Kumogakure had Yugito alive. But now that the Niibi was with Konohagakure, that position wasn't stable. As those thoughts went through his mind, a part of him scolded himself for even thinking of those thoughts, it made him just like those bastards who saw the Jinchurikii as weapons, and his brother was one of them.

Ay sighed and looked at the two men, "Take the day off, I'll decide what to do next. Don't worry, we won't go to war with Konoha, not when there's the Akatsuki."

Kouga and Jinga both nodded before they quickly left the office, leaving the Raikage to his own thoughts.

Ay stared at his table, he just hoped the elders didn't get wind of this. Knowing how they planned the Hyuga fiasco, they'd do something similar for the Niibi.

As if on cue, the office door opened to reveal one of the village elders, an old man with a white beard and wore a grey kimono.

The old man spoke, "Raikage-sama, I heard we lost the Niibi to Konohagakure, did we not?"

Ay cursed in his mind, 'I had to jinx it.. Guess there's no hiding it.'

The Raikage nodded, "Yeah, Yugito passed the Niibi to a Konoha kunoichi, who's a friend of Minato's daughter."

The elder frowned, "Then you should hurry and retrieve that girl, she possesses our property. If they don't extract the Niibi and give it back, then they should give us the girl."

Ay sighed in annoyance, "Yeah yeah, I'll do something about that. Now, do you have anything else, or did you come here just to bother me with that?"

The elder looked at Ay one last time, "No, that's all I came for. Remember, Raikage-sama, get the Niibi back."

After saying that, the elder exited the office. Ay sighed, while he had almost removed most of the civilian council, he was still working to remove the elders from their positions as advisors, and they were all incredibly annoying.

Regardless, Ay wasn't planning to take the Niibi back, not forcefully at least. The man considered writing a letter before he heard Mabui enter the office.

The secretary spoke, "Raikage-sama, there's a letter from Konoha."

Ay blinked, that was fast... He nodded, "Thank you, Mabui."

The Raikage took the letter and quickly read it. In the letter was an apology from the Hokage regarding the Niibi and formalities for something that could potentially be a capital offense.

Now with the letter, he had two options. One, accept the apology and treat it as if nothing had happened and continue to try to build the alliance. Two, request or demand the Niibi be returned to them and potential cause a war.

The second choice was definitely a no go. True, Kumogakure was known to be at least as strong as Konohagakure. But that was without factoring in Sunagakure. Yes, the village hidden in the sands was weak when compared to the other villages, but recently he had received info that the Kazekage had survived a bijuu extraction. Granted he had medical attention, but still, he survived a fucking bijuu extraction. That was saying a lot.

Furthermore, Kumo had no allies. Kirigakure was still recovering from their civil war, and he heard they were considering forming an alliance with Konoha too. To Iwagakure, he'd commit seppuku before he asked for an alliance with that old bastard.

So no war. Besides, he respected Jiraiya and Tsunade, and he definitely respected Minato's daughter, even if only for the fact that she had learned the Hiraishin and could put up with his idiot of a brother.

Ay sighed, he guessed that made his choice. The Raikage quickly wrote a reply and called for Mabui. The secretary wasted not a second and quickly sent the letter to Konoha.

The huge man sat on his chair as he considered everything. Ever since the elders forced the Hyuga incident to happen, Kumogakure's reputation, apart from their strength, was not good. Because of that fiasco, the clients' trust in them had dwindled. If they pulled something like declaring war on Konoha, they'd not only risk having their village physically destroyed, if they survived, they'd have the village economically destroyed. Even worse, Ay knew Konoha had a trading alliance with Nami no Kuni, and Kumo still relied on that country for some of their trades.

The man was then broken out of his musings by the door opening. Ay looked up and saw his brother, "What do you want, Bee?"

Kirabi asked, "Is it true, about Yugito?"

Ay nodded, not really botheted by how Bee was not rapping, given the situation, "Yeah, stupid Akatsuki. Now, we lost a fine kunoichi and a good Jounin because of them."

Bee nodded, "I heard, Matatabi is with Konoha now."

The Raikage nodded, "If you're telling me to get the Niibi back, don't. I'm not about to risk the village in a war just for that."

The Jinchurikii nodded, "Good. So, what are you gonna do now?"

Ay looked out of the window, "I've sent a letter to Konoha, with their position, they can cripple us. Hopefully, we can still have that alliance."

Bee nodded, "I see."

The rapper then turned, "I'll be off then. Tell me when is Yugito's funeral, and call me if you need anything."

Ay just nodded before his brother left the office.

Meanwhile, in Amegakure, Pein sighed as he received the report from Zetsu, "So, Hidan and Kakuzu got themselves killed."

Zetsu nodded. The Rinnegan user turned and stared out to the raining village, "Keep watch on the new Niibi Jinchurikii and the Kyuubi. Depending on the situation, we might go for the Sanbi or the Niibi first."

Zetsu nodded before he sunk into the ground. As soon as the plant left, a man wearing an orange swirled mask appeared.

The man spoke, "So, you failed in retrieving the Niibi."

Pein replied, "Don't rush, we have time. I suppose we won't need to go by order now, after I regather our forces, I'll go hunt for the Yonbi, Gobi and Rokubi."

The masked man inquired, "What of the Niibi, Sanbi, Nanabi, Hachibi and Kyubi?"

Pein nodded, "Once I gather the rest, I'll go for the Nanabi, then we launch an invasion to get the Kyubi and Niibi. I won't fail, Madara."

Madara chuckled, "I hope you won't. I look forward to it, Pein."

The man swirled away as his laughter faded into the air.

XXX

Done. So the next few chapters will be the Sanbi sub-arc. Review please. Until the next chapter.


	39. Chapter 39

Hey guys. Sorry for the late update. I recently got a Nintendo Switch, with Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu, so I got distracted. Plus I started a bit of a part time job, so that took up some time too.

So **Guest** , about Fuu, well, she will most probably die. I might, MIGHT, have some development with her and Shino. But as of now, I am most likely gonna have her die. Sorry.

To that other **Guest** , I kinda missed that, but since I didn't actually write out the letter and just gave a brief explanation of what it entailed, letz just say she did include the part about the Juubi.

So yeah, onto the chapter.

XXX

A few days later, Jiraiya had left to get info on the Sanbi, and Kirito decided to ask Gai and Kakashi to teach him the Eight Gates.

Now, they were in a training field. Kakashi stared at Kirito, "So, you want us to teach you the Eight Gates?"

Kirito nodded as Kakashi and Gai shared a look. Gai looked at the young man, "Kirito, while I admire your drive to get stronger, the Eight Gates isn't something you can simply learn. It requires constant practice, and normally it requires you being a student of the Goken dojo. Its a sacred art. Even if we did ignore that part, its dangerous for your body."

Kirito opened his mouth, wanting to speak before Gai cut him off, "Before you say anything about Lee, know that he has been training in the Goken arts since he became a Gennin."

Kirito nodded. Kakashi sighed, "Well, its not like we won't teach you, but we just want you to know the risks, to know what it means to learn the Eight Gates."

Kirito nodded, "I see."

Gai nodded, "Good. So, do you still want to learn?"

The swordsman closed his eyes. His mark was a good power up, and he knew he was quite strong. But when he thought about the Akatsuki, he felt that it wasn't enough. In the end, he still wanted to get stronger.

Kirito opened his eyes, "Yeah, I want to learn it."

Kakashi chuckled, "Fine. Let's start now."

Gai nodded and in a blink of an eye, the two Jounin appeared in front of Kirito, both poised to strike. The swordsman barely had time to dodge it as he flipped backwards. The young man smirked as he charged.

A few days later, Jiraiya was in a random area in Mizu no Kuni, more specifically, at the edge of a huge lake. The sage stared at the water, this was the last place the Sanbi was sighted. And true enough, he could feel it. The signature was weak, but with his skill as a sensor ninja, he could feel the unique sign of the bijuu.

Jiraiya nodded, 'Okay, time to head back and tell them.'

The man quickly turned and left via Shunshin. Unknown to him though, as soon as he left, a snake slithered away as well, a satisfied glint in its eyes.

At the same time, in Amegakure, Pein looked at Itachi, Kisame and Konan. The leader of the Akatsuki said, "Itachi, Kisame, Konan. You three are the remaining combat ready members of our organisation. Zetsu is required to gather information, and he is not as good at combat as you are."

The three nodded as Pein continued, "With how half of our members are killed by the Kyuubi Jinchurikii, we must not follow the order in collecting the bijuu. So, I will have one of my paths follow each of you. The three of you, along with one of my paths each, will hunt for the Yonbi, Gobi and Rokubi."

The three nodded as Pein's paths appeared beside the self-proclaimed god. Then they moved out. As the three teams moved, Zetsu remained, and Pein asked, "Anything you want, Zetsu?"

The plant man nodded, "Yes, about the Sanbi, apparently the Konoha ninja are looking for it, possibly to take it before we can."

The Rinnegan user raised an eyebrow, "Hmm? Is that right?"

Zetsu nodded. The last male Uzumaki nodded, "Fine. I guess I'll go myself."

Zetsu spoke up, "About that, it also seems Orochimaru has something, or rather, someone that can capture the Sanbi rather easily. How about getting him to do the work?"

Pein pondered a bit, "Hmm, I suppose. He's been rather... afraid that I'll hunt for him anyways, maybe this will ease him up a bit, and hopefully we can utilise his resources."

Zetsu nodded as Pein looked at him, "Okay, go find Orochimaru. Tell him we'll leave him alone if he can get us the Sanbi."

The plant man nodded and sunk into the ground, heading for Orochimaru's hideout, which was supposed to be one of the few hideouts that were perfectly hidden away.

In the hideout, as Orochimaru looked at the reports Guren about a young boy he found to have connections to the Sanbi. The snake chuckled, it was interesting and intriguing.

The man knew Guren had some amount or affection for the young boy, if only in a maternal manner, at least according to Kabuto.

The man's eyes narrowed as he spotted a familiar figure rising up from the ground, one that he found unwelcome. Orochimaru hissed, "Zetsu... What do you want?"

The plant man smirked, or at least, the black part did, "Orochimaru, Pein wants you to get the Sanbi for us, in exchange, we'll leave you alone."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, it just so happened he was interested in the Sanbi, and they come in demanding for it. Orochimaru knew of Pein's true identity, the fact that Konan stayed in the Akatsuki, and the fact that the body Pein used to meet him belonged to Yahiko, gave it away.

The former member of the legendary Sannin remembered the stories Jiraiya used to tell him and Tsunade, about his three protégés that they met in the war.

Orochimaru frowned, "Fine. I get you the fucking bijuu, you leave me alone, capiche?"

Zetsu grinned, or at least, the white grinned while the black part smirked, "Capiche. I'll see you and the Sanbi."

The plant sunk into the ground, leaving the snake summoner alone, fuming. The man yelled, "Kabuto, get me Guren!"

In a few moments, the bespectacled man came in with a woman wearing a green dress with her hair tied up. Kabuto nodded to his master, "Orochimaru-sama."

The man nodded, "Good, you can leave. I want to talk to Guren alone."

The white haired man nodded and left the room, not before sending the woman a brief look. Guren stared at her master, "Orochimaru-sama, what is it?"

The man nodded, "A few moments ago, I received a request to capture the Sanbi. You remember how Yukimaru-kun has a connection to the Sanbi?"

Guren wanted to frown but she controller herself, "Yes, but..."

Orochimaru chuckled and turned away, "I know you care for the boy, regardless of your normally cold demeanour. Worry not, this won't hurt him at all. All he needs to do, is draw the Sanbi out, then you'll seal the bijuu away."

Guren nodded, "I see. Very well, I will see to it that its done."

Orochimaru smiled, "Good. Gather your team, you can leave at your own leisure, but I advise you leave by tomorrow. I expect good news."

Guren nodded and left the room. As soon as she did, Orochimaru thought, 'Maybe I should have Kabuto disguise himself and follow them. That's one person, now who should I send next?'

Meanwhile, back in Konoha, Jiraiya was in Tsunade's office, with Hikari standing beside him. The toad sage said, "I've located the Sanbi, we can move out soon, preferably as soon as possible."

Hikari nodded. Then she heard the Kyuubi say, "Hikari, let me talk for a bit."

The girl nodded and let the bijuu take the front seat as she watched from within the seal. The Kyuubi spoke, "Toad, you will remember our agreement, right?"

Jiraiya blinked in surprise at the sudden change and nodded, "Of course."

The Kyuubi nodded, "Good. Only Hikari, Suguha, Asuna and Sinon will go. You will come with us as well. Other than that, no one else will come with us."

Tsunade nodded, "Very well. But, are you sure? The Akatsuki might go for the Sanbi. Given how the Niibi and you are going to be there."

The Kyuubi closed his eyes, "Very well, send one team with us then."

Tsunade nodded, "Okay. So, when do you want to leave?"

The Kyuubi opened his eyes, "In two hours, I suppose."

The Hokage nodded, "Got it, is that all?"

The bijuu nodded before he returned control to his host. Hikari sighed, "Damn it still feels weird to do that."

The girl looked at her godmother, "So, that settles it, I guess."

Tsunade nodded, "Yeah, go get ready, I'll tell Kurenai to get her team and meet you all at the gates in two hours."

The blonde nodded and turned to head home. Jiraiya saluted at Tsunade before he leapt out of the window, most likely to carry out his research.

Two hours later, at the gates, Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha along with Team Kurenai were waiting for Jiraiya. Hikari sighed, "Where is he?"

The other women all shook their head, they had a pretty good idea what Jiraiya was doing, and even if they didn't like it, they couldn't exactly do anything about it. After all, if Tsunade couldn't fix that, no one can.

Kiba and Akamaru shared a subtle grin/smirk with Shino, who silently nodded, a smirk hidden behind his cloak. They knew the toad sage was at the hotsprings, and they were looking forward to the final product of the sage's research.

Unfortunately, that research was about to end, as after five more minutes of waiting, Hikari frowned and threw a Hiraishin kunai at a nearby tree. The blonde then drew a handful of Hiraishin seal engraved kunai and threw hard into the sky. As the kunai fell to the ground, the girl vanished in a yellow flash.

After a few moments, the sound of a girly scream could be heard throughout the village before Hikari appeared at the gates, with a beaten up Jiraiya grabbed by the collars of his clothes on the floor. The girl dragged him across the floor before he flung Jiraiya onto the ground at Kiba and Shino's feet.

Hikari spoke as she walked past them, "Carry him, we've wasted enough time."

Kiba and Shino could only stare at the bruises and bumps on Jiraiya's head and face in surprise and fear as the other kunoichi headed for the gates. Kurenai turned her head and said, "Come on boys, hurry up!"

The two men of the team nodded to each other as well as Akamaru and they quickly hefted the beat up man onto the huge dog. Then they quickly chased after the rest of their team as they headed for Mizu no Kuni.

Meanwhile, in Kayaba's private training area, Kirito, Gai and Kakashi were training. The swordsman had successfully gained access to the first two gates, which greatly surprised the Copy Ninja and Konoha's Blue Beast. Usually it'd take at least a month to get to the first gate, but Kirito managed to get to the second in less than a month.

Now, Kirito was using the second gate against Kakashi. Kirito let out a breath as he stared at the cyclops. The gates felt similar to his Acceleration, with some key differences.

The major difference, was that the Acceleration made everything feel light and made everything slow down. The gates, on the other hand, didn't change his perspective or slow down time, rather, it increased his senses and his general stats. He felt stronger and lighter. He also noticed his mind was clearer.

Kirito nodded to Kakashi and they both charged. The cyclops quickly drew his chakra saber, the metal glowing white as he swung the blade. Kirito responded by drawing his Elucidator, swinging the black blade at the man.

The two contrasting blades met, and the two Jounin clashed blades several times before Kirito sent Kakashi's tanto flying out of his hand, the short sword stabbed into the ground.

Kakashi grinned and started going through a set of seals before he sent a huge fire ball at the swordsman. Kirito narrowed his eyes at the sphere of fire as he channeled chakra into his sword, making it glow light blue, then he swung his sword hard diagonally, creating a shock wave that completely extinguished the flames.

Kakashi chuckled, "Not bad, not bad at all. Only two gates and you can do that already."

Kirito nodded before he readied his stance again. Then an idea came to his mind, maybe he could combine his Acceleration with the gates, or use the mark in conjunction with the gates or even use all three at once. The swordsman decided to give it a try and focused on his mark as well as his skill with the Acceleration.

The results were greater than he expected. Time slowed down around him, his senses increased tenfolds. Kirito felt stronger than ever, as if he could do anything. Kakashi and Gai also seemed to be surprised by the change, as Kirito had an orange hue around his body along with the characteristics of the second gate.

Then before Kirito could charge, pain exploded in his head as he grasped his head in pain, yelling as he feel to the ground on his knees.

The two elder Jounins' eyes widened as they quickly rushed to Kirito's side, calling his name as they checked him over. Kakashi cursed, "Dammit, Gai, the hospital."

The taijutsu specialist nodded and they quickly grabbed the young man before they blurred out of sight.

A while later, Kirito groaned as he grabbed his head in pain. He had heard several voices calling for his name, some he could recognise, some he couldn't.

The young blacksmith opened his eyes and saw a familiar yet foreign room. Kirito also noticed he wasn't in his cloak. He was wearing a blank white T-shirt with pants.

The young man opened the door and walked out of the room. He walked across the short corridor and came to a living room, where three figures were sitting on the sofas.

The first one was a young man around his age, with flax-brown short wavy hair and bluish-green eyes. He also wore a light blue T-shirt.

The second one was a young girl, around the age of 12 to 14. She had light brown hair done in a braid and had dark blue eyes.

The final one was a girl around his age, with long golden hair, also done in a braid like the younger girl. She also had light blue eyes.

The young man smiled, "Kirito, you're awake."

Kirito nodded and said, "Yeah, I guess. I still wish I could sleep a little longer though."

The younger girl giggled, "As expected of Kirito, you're as lazy as ever."

The elder girl shook her head and sighed, "If you keep lazing around, father is going to get mad at you."

The younger girl nodded, "Yup, and you won't be able to go train your so-called sword skills."

Kirito grew a tick-mark as he said the younger girl's name, "Hey, I AM a swordsman, I will be one. Just you wait."

The elder girl laughed lightly, "Sure, sure. Tell us that when we pass the entrance exam for the academy."

The young man chuckled, "You two shouldn't tease him so much. I don't know where he learned it, but he really can use sword arts."

The younger girl smiled skeptically, "I know he can use sword arts, he did say he learned it from an old man."

The elder girl sighed and lightly patted the younger girl's head, "Well, I guess we can stop teasing him. Come on, let's go. Father and mother are waiting for us, or rather, for you."

She looked at Kirito pointedly as he nodded, "Sure, I'll go get changed quickly."

The elder girl nodded and Kirito went to change. Then as the shirt covered his head, when the shirt came down, letting his head out, the scene changed.

Instead of the foreign yet nostalgic room, he was standing in front of a huge grey statue. The three from the previous scene were also with him.

The younger girl smiled as she noticed Kirito's confused look, "This is Granteed, believed to be the physical body of the God of Blades, XXXXXX. According to the legends, after his battle with Vector to protect the humans, his soul was too tired and left his body, floating in the astral plane. His body, now known as Granteed, is left here, or at least, that's what we believe. None of the other gods gave us any explanations, but they did hint that we would need to worship him. "

Kirito nodded, "I see."

He stared at the large grey statue, he could certainly feel the 'sword' in it, even if it didn't look like something that'd embody blades. It also felt familiar to him, for some reason.

The other young man spoke, "Come on, let's go, you can pray later."

The younger girl nodded, "Fine, come on, Kirito."

The blacksmith nodded and the four turned for the door. Then as the elder girl opened the door, a white light blinded Kirito, and he knew no more.

Meanwhile, with the team headed for the Sanbi, they were at the site where the Sanbi was sighted. Jiraiya nodded, "This is where the Sanbi was last seen, or at least, last sensed."

Hikari and Sinon both nodded, both asking their tenants to confirm it.

The Kyubi nodded and spoke in Hikari's mind, "I can certainly feel that turtle's chakra, he's still here."

Matatabi also agreed, "Yes, he's here, most probably at the river bed."

Then Hinata spotted something and frowned, "Guys, look."

They turned to the river and saw a small boat on the river. Kurenai's eyes widened in shock, "Those clothes, they're Orochimaru's men."

Everyone could at least make out the tell-tale sign of the rope-like belt, which were worn by most of Orochimaru's men, or at least, those he trusted and deemed worthy.

Hinata continued as she frowned, "There're a six men, a woman and a... boy?"

Kurenai nodded, "Got it, Hikari, Sinon, I want you two, along with your... tenants, to try and contact the Sanbi. Asuna and Suguha, go with them, keep them safe. The rest of us will find a way and take them out."

Everyone nodded and they went to work. Team Kurenai slowly moved to the edge of the lake before Kurenai nodded to Hinata. The Hyuga heiress nodded and slowly channelled her chakra into her palms, forming her signature lion chakra fists.

The girl let out a breath and she thrust both hands forward as she said quietly but firmly, "Hakke Kuusho!"

The two lion chakra fists shot towards the boat, with one of the fists striking the boat while the other hitting the water.

With Guren and her team earlier, as they neared the area where Yukimaru sensed the Sanbi, the woman's eyes widened as a pair of blue lion shaped objects shot at them.

The woman yelled as she encased herself and Yukimaru in crystal, "Incoming!"

The first of the two projectiles struck the boat while the other hit the water, but that was enough as it sent most of the people on the boat flying.

Guren cursed as she hugged the boy closer and dispelled her crystal shield, 'I need to get him to safety first.'

She looked at the men, "Deal with them, I'll take care of the Sanbi."

Gozu, Nurari, Kigiri, Kiho, Rinji and Reiji (Kabuto in disguise) nodded.

(Okay, so I'm a bit lazy in describing them, so if you wanna know how they look like, go search Team Guren, you'll see a list of all of the members except Reiji/Kabuto. For now he's wearing a purple wig, green contact lenses and wears a black cloak with a basic grey T-shirt underneath with black shinobi pants.)

Reiji/Kabuto smirked as Guren jumped away with Yukimaru in her arms. It was painfully obvious that the woman wanted to take the boy to a safe place, and well, since he was under orders from Orochimaru, he might as well carry them out.

The diguised man's smirk widened as Guren's teammates all leaped out of the sinking boat, onto the water as they charged the Konoha shinobi. The snake's apprentice chuckled to himself as he sunk into the water, careful not to go too deep lest the Sanbi kills him.

The rest of team Guren spotted the Konoha shinobi rushing towards them. Rinji narrowed his eyes as he noticed a Hyuga, an Inuzuka, an Aburame and a woman running at them. His mind raced for plans, but they didn't know what they were capable of, so that was a problem.

Rinji said, "Kiho, Kigiri, take the Aburame, Nurari, take the Hyuga. Gozu, take the Inuzuka, I'll take the woman."

No one objected, after all, after Guren, Rinji was the best thing they had to a strategist. In every one of their missions, either Rinji or Guren would tell them what to do, they followed it to the T, and they never failed a mission.

Kiho and Kigiri quickly charged the Aburame, having heard rumors that the Konoha shinobi clan used bugs to fight. That gave them the advantage, since they used smoke, and bugs were naturally weak against smoke, or at least hated smoke.

Kurenai narrowed her eyes as she saw the five Oto ninja charge them. It seemed that they had already chose targets, and probably knew what they were capable of, at least to some extent. Unfortunately, Kurenai knew nothing of them.

The Jounin said, "Guys, stay sharp."

Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru and Shino nodded as they readied themselves. The Hyuga heiress met the feminine man head on, while the Inuzuka heir charged the huge man as the Aburame heir deployed his insects.

With Shino, the man narrowed his eyes as the two Oto ninja started to release smoke from their equipment, or in Kigiri's case, through a jutsu.

The Aburame knew that they knew he utilised his kikaichu to fight, and smoke was most probably the best thing after fire. Unfortunately for them, the Aburame clan had considered that weakness, and they had managed to breed the kikaichu to withstand heat, coldness and most importantly for now, smoke.

The man sent his bugs into the smoke, using their unique chakra sensing abilities to find out where the two men were. Shino narrowed his eyes as he noticed the smoke covering the area, his teammates slowly fading out of range.

That hardly mattered now, he needed to take down the two of them anyways. Shino glanced around, noting that they were constantly moving around the area. A smart move, considering they made next to no noise since they were still on the water.

The man spotted a vague serpent like object shooting at him from a distance. Swiftly, he jumped away to dodge it, but it started to wrap around his head, and he realised it was smoke.

The young man quickly held his breath, fearing that it contained poison. Fortunately for him, Shino had learned to hold his breath for a long time, plus the kikaichu could always supply his body with oxygen, so his health wasn't a problem. But that could only work for so long, as his human body would instinctively force him to breath eventually.

Shino spotted a tall figure rushing at him and he quickly ducked to dodge a punch. Kigiri's eyes widened in surprise, he hadn't expected the Aburame to dodge the punch, and he certainly wasn't expected punch to his gut.

Kigiri's eyes widened in shock as he was sent onto the water surface by the punch. The man quickly got up and vanished into the smoke. But that was all Shino needed.

As Kigiri leaped away, he felt something on his clothes, his hair and his arms, as if they were moving, just like bugs. His eyes widened as he noticed dozens if not hundreds of kikaichu crawling on him.

Kirigi thought, 'H-how?!'

That was all he could think, as the insects began to work. Immediately, Kigiri felt his chakra being drained from his body, then he felt sharp bursts of pain all over his body from the bugs biting him.

Slowly, his vision started to waver as he fell to one knee, from chakra exhaustion and the poison in his blood. The Oto ninja could barely make out the figure in front of him, and he could barely hear Kiho's cry of worry.

Shino stared down at the kneeling man, his bugs were keeping the other Oto ninja busy, so he wouldn't have any problems for now. The young man asked, "How does it feel, the chakra being drained and the poison in your body?"

Kigiri chuckled painfully, "Heh, not bad, for a tree hugger. I completely underestimated you."

Shino nodded, "Using smoke, wasn't a bad idea. But unfortunately for you, we breed our colonies to overcome their natural weaknesses."

Kigiri just chuckled as he accepted his fate, not bothering to do anything as the bugs swarmed over him, killing him on the spot.

Shino then turned to the other man, who was making a lot of noise trying to keep his bugs away. The young man's eyes narrowed as he heard the Oto ninja shout, "Stay away you pieces of shit!"

Kiho screamed as he shot balls of smoke from his arm-mounted weapon over and over again, trying to kill the bugs, to no avail.

Shino just narrowed his eyes as he raised his right arm, summoning and releasing more of his colony to gather above him. Then he swung his arm down, commanding his swarm to kill the man.

Kiho didn't last half a minute, as all the insects swarmed over him in less than 10 seconds. They absorbed his chakra, poisoned him and bit him all over. Once they were done, the bugs flew away back to Shino's body, leaving a dried corpse.

Shino just turned and make a small wind jutsu that dispersed the smoke before he headed back for his team.

Meanwhile, when the fights started, Hikari, Sinon, Asuna and Suguha were standing on the river some distance away.

Hikari asked mentally, "Kyubi, is this the place?"

The bijuu nodded, "Yeah, I can feel that brat down there. Wait a second, we'll talk to him."

Hikari nodded, knowing Sinon was probably having a similar conversation with Matatabi.

The two girls then felt the world around them change, as they were now standing on their respective bijuu, facing a huge grey turtle-like creature with one eye closed.

The Kyubi spoke, "Brother, its been a while."

The Sanbi nodded, "Indeed it has."

The bijuu took notice of the two girls on top of his siblings and continued, "A century at least, Kyubi, Niibi."

Matatabi nodded, "Yes."

The Sanbi then asked, "So, I assume those girls are your respective Jinchurikii, what do you want? It can't possibly just to catch up, right?"

The Kyubi nodded, sending a mental message for Hikari to shut up, "An organisation has been formed, and they are actively moving to capture us, most likely to revive the Juubi."

The Sanbi's eyes widened and he nodded seriously, "I see, that's troubling."

The Niibi nodded, "They've already got Shukaku, and probably me, if Sinon and Hikari weren't there."

The Sanbi nodded, "I see, so, what do you want me to do? If they are actively searching to capture us, I suppose they would have some way to defeat us."

The Kyubi nodded, "I heard, that the leader of this organisation, has father's eyes."

The Sanbi's eyes widened in shock, "W-what?!"

Matatabi nodded, "According to one of the human's spies, yes."

The Sanbi kept silent, taking in that fact. The Kyubi spoke, "As of now, being in the open alone is dangerous, our nature as natural beings of chakra makes it easy for them to capture us. One single seal, that's all it takes. That's why we're going to gather everyone, to prevent the Juubi from coming back."

The Sanbi nodded, "I see, so how do we do that? You said it, as long as we are in the open..."

The Bijuu trailed off before he glared at his siblings, "You don't mean..."

The Kyubi nodded, "Yeah, as much as I hate to admit it. Now, being sealed in a Jinchurikii is safer, much safer."

The Sanbi glared at his eldest brother, "You know how I feel about that!"

Matatabi nodded, "I know, but, we made deals with them, we will chose who we get sealed in, and I know, we know, the one who becomes your Jinchurikii will be different."

The Kyuubi nodded in agreement, "She's right. I know its weird for me to say it, but, the Jinchurikii understand how we feel, at least to some extent. The girl we choose, has lived with my Jinchurikii for her entire life. She will treat you right."

The Sanbi stared at his brother and sister for a few moments. He sighed, if his eldest brother, who was the one who held to their values the most, said that, then he supposed it wouldn't be that bad.

The bijuu nodded, "Fine... I'll do i-"

He was cut off as he growled in pain, then he vanished from the shared white plain.

Outside, Hikari and Sinon both opened their eyes to see a light pink pillar rising from the shore, and the Sanbi burst out of the water.

Kabuto laughed as he stared at Yukimaru, the young boy screaming in pain as he established the link with the Sanbi. Guren growled and yelled at the man, "KABUTO!"

XXX

Done. So that's the 39th chapter. The next chapter will be Kabuto vs Guren, Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha. As well as the rest of the fights between Team Kurenai and the members of Team Guren. It will also be the birth of the new Sanbi Jinchurikii, I don't need to tell you who she is, right?

So yeah, review please. Until next time.


	40. Chapter 40

Hey guys. Here's the 40th chapter.

So **Antex-The Legendary Zoroark** , thank you for all your reviews. About Kirito's visions, yes, his original powers are slowly awakening, so he's regaining his memories bit by bit.

About Itachi and Sasuke switching eyes, yes, that will come eventually, and about that fuinjutsu healing eyes thing, its possible, you just gave me something to think about. Haha.

So yeah, thanks for all your reviews again.

Anyways, let's start with the chapter.

XXX

With Hinata, the Hyuga heiress stared at the feminine man warily. Nurari didn't look much, apart from looking like a creepy transgender person. But looks can be deceiving.

The girl readied her stance as she stayed on guard, Nurari circling her with a creepy grin on his face. Hinata kept a passive face, but the girl was feeling disgusted by him.

Nurari stopped in front of the girl, seeing she was very wary of him, and circling her wouldn't do much good. Without a word, he charged forward.

Unfortunately for the man, and fortunately for Hinata, Nurari had next to no knowledge about the Hyuga clan. The man mostly relied on Rinji for information and plans after all, his whole team did, apart from Guren of course.

Hinata blocked Nurari's sloppy punch, pushing it away with her forearm before she thrust her palm at Nurari's chest. To her surprise, the man nimbly moved away and dodged the strike.

But Hinata didn't let that affect her. The girl quickly used the momentum from her missed attack and spun, yelling as she did, "Hakkesho: Kaiten!"

Nurari's eyes widened in shock as the prized defensive jutsu of the Hyuga clan appeared in front of him, the barrier of spinning chakra grinding against him before it sent him flying straight into a tree on the shore.

Hinata slowly returned to her Juuken stance, careful not to rush in. At the end, she didn't have a grasp on Nurari's abilities, apart from the surprising display of agility, which may or may not have been a fluke.

True to her suspicions, Nurari stood up from the tree, bruised up, but not too hurt. The man frowned and quickly charged forward, surprising Hinata with his speed.

The girl raised her arms to block an uppercut before she pushed back, sending a Juuken strike to Nurari's chest. The man smiled creepily and dodged attack and slipped further in, and his smile dropped as he saw Hinata quickly slipping into her personal stance.

The girl yelled as she performed her technique, "Shugo Hakke: Rokujuuyonsho!"

The girl started to spin, weaving countless chakra threads around her. The threads appeared so fast that they formed a dome around the girl, not unlike that of the Kaiten, and Nurari was blasted away by the counter-attack, sending him into a tree yet again.

The man growled, having enough of it as he charged forward yet again. Hinata narrowed her eyes as she thrust her hands forward in several Juuken strikes, but her eyes widened as her palms slid across his suit, as if she struck somethinv slippery.

The girl managed to cross her arms to block a kick from Nurari, which sent her skidding across the floor for several meters before she regained her balance.

Nurari charged again, but this time, Hinata was ready. As soon as Nurari entered her range, Hinata slid into the tell-tale stance of her clan, "You're in my range of divinity."

Before Nurari could even take another step, Hinata moved, "Jūkenhō: Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!"

The girl started her combo, striking exactly sixty four times on Nurari's body. The strikes earning coughs of blood from the weird man. Hinata roared as she finished with a palm strike to Nurari's chest, which would send him flying away.

But the girl wasn't done. Not missing the slim chance, Hinata quickly spun and grabbed Nurari by his arm before she threw him upwards.

Hinata then slid into the Juuken stance, and as Nurari fell, the girl yelled, "Hakke Hasangeki!"

The Hyuga heiress thrust her palm upwards, and the invisible strike struck Nurari head on, earning a final cough of blood from the man as the attack killed him.

Hinata let out a breath as she stepped back, letting the dead body fall onto the ground. She looked up and let a small smile grace her face upon seeing the palm shaped opening in the clouds, courtesy of her attack.

The Hyuga heiress was cut off from her musings when she felt a huge burst of chakra, and she turned to see a pink chakra pillar rising from the ground, followed by a loud roar.

Meanwhile, at the same time all the fights started, Kiba and Akamaru stared at Gozu. The huge man stared at the two warily, Kiba didn't look like much, but Gozu was more concerned about the large dog.

The huge man had faced many enemies, but never in his life, had he seen a dog as huge as Akamaru, hell, he didn't think he's ever seen one for that matter, since his job was mostly to kill.

Kiba sent a subtle nod to Akamaru, who nodded back. In an instant, Gozu found Kiba and Akamaru flanking him. The huge man smirked and raised his arm, "Don't think that's gonna work!"

He slammed his fist onto the ground, creating a shock wave that knocked the Inuzuka heir and his partner off balance.

But they didn't let that deter them, as Kiba yelled as he flipped over onto all fours, "Let's go, Akamaru!"

The huge dog barked in response as he too fell on all fours. Kiba yelled, "Gijuu Ninpo: Shikyaku no Jutsu! Ninpo: Juujin Bunshin!"

At that moment, Kiba's features turned feral, his nails sharpening into claws and his teeth into fangs. At the same time, smoke engulfed Akamaru, dispersing to reveal the exact same figure of the beast-like Kiba.

Gozu narrowed his eyes as he turned between the two beast-like figures. The huge man had no idea which was which, but to be frank, it didn't matter to him, all he needed to do, was to kill them.

Or at least, that's what he wanted to believe. Being flanked by two identical enemies wasn't a good position, not at all, especially if they could attack at the same time.

As if on cue, Kiba and Akamaru both charged. Kiba yelled, "Gatsuga!"

The two clones started to spin, forming two tornadoes charging at Gozu from both sides. The man quickly jumped up, hoping for the two cyclones to slam into each other and hopefully cancel each other out.

But unfortunately, to his surprise, Kiba and his clone changed directions, joining together as they spun around each other, shooting up at Gozu.

The huge man cursed and thrust his fist forward, hoping to at least slow down the two cyclones. Gozu's eyes widened as he suppressed the urge to scream in pain as Kiba and Akamaru grind against his fist, staining the ground with Gozu's blood.

The two cyclones then blew Gozu's arm away before they struck the huge man, sending him further up in the air.

Then the two partners landed on the ground, ending their technique. Glancing up at the airborne Gozu, Kiba yelled, "Let's end this, Akamaru!"

The dog barked in agreement as he got in front of Kiba, his owner said, "Jinjū Konbi Henge: Sōtōrō."

A huge cloud of smoke covered them before it dispersed to reveal a huge two headed Akamaru, growling at still airbourne man.

Kiba yelled as he and Akamaru charged in their combined body, "Garoga!"

Immediately, the combined dog and human turned into a huge cyclone, slamming straight into Gozu who couldn't react in time. The huge man roared in pain as the attack drilled through his abdomen.

Gozu grunted and tried to push back against the attack. For a brief moment, he seemed to push back against Kiba and Akamaru, but his eyes widened as Kiba and Akamaru fully pierced through his body, leaving only his head, limbs and several pieces of his body in the air.

The two headed dog shot through the air and headed for the ground before it burst into smoke, revealing Kiba and Akamaru on the ground. Kiba smirked, "Nice job, bro."

Akamaru barked in response before they turned away from the remaining pieces of Gozu.

Meanwhile, in another part of the area, Kurenai and Rinji were staring at each other, ready to move the moment their opponent showed any signs of weakness.

The man found the woman in front of him quite hot, that made it easy for the eyes for him, at least that's what he thought. Rinji already had most of his bats around in the trees, so he could counter any second.

The man frowned in his mind, he didn't know anything about the woman. Her appearance told him she was an Uchiha, or at least, a relative. But that wasn't possible, since apart from Uchiha Sasuke, who Orochimaru seemed to be obsessed about, and Uchiha Itachi, there wasn't supposed to be any other Uchiha.

Even if Sasuke or Itachi had a child, the woman in front of him was too old to be one. That left several other possibilities, one of which was Yuhi Kurenai, the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha. If that was the case, then Rinji was in trouble. For him, he always sucked at Genjutsu, it was one of the few weaknesses he had.

True, Rinji had his bats, that could help him somewhat in breaking Genjutsu, but it only worked for low to mid level Genjutsu.

After several minutes, Rinji got tired of waiting, a rare show of impatience and recklessness on his part, and charged forward, drawing a kunai as he did.

Kurenai narrowed her eyes and swiftly drew a kunai of her own. The woman easily blocked Rinji's slash before she kicked him away, quickly throwing the kunai at him.

Rinji easily parried the knife, sending the kunai at a tree before he charged forward again.

As the man rushed towards her, Kurenai quickly leaped back as she went through two sets of handseals, the first one a time-delayed Genjutsu, and the second one being one of the few Katon jutsu Asuma and Hiruzen taught her.

Once she finished the first set, Kurenai thought, 'Magen: Jubaku Satsu.'

As soon as she finished the second set, she yelled, "Katon: Karyu Endan!"

The woman breathed out streams of hot flames in the shape of dragons, the flames shooting towards Rinji.

The man's eyes widened as he barely dodged the flames, backing away into a tree. Rinji's eyes further widened, if it was possible, as the branches of the tree quickly binded him.

The man struggled to move before he looked around to look for Kurenai, only for her to be nowhere in sight.

Rinji continued to struggle, to no avail, completely unaware of the woman emerging from the tree behind him, while in reality, Rinji was standing there motionless, and Kurenai was approaching him from behind.

Kurenai drew a kunai, and in one flawless stroke, Rinji's head fell onto the floor.

The woman released the Genjutsu as she let out a breath. Then, as Kurenai was about to turn and look for her students, a huge pink pillar of light emerged from the ground, followed by a loud roar.

Earlier, with Guren and Yukimaru, the woman had managed to find a safe place for the young boy. The woman looked at the boy, "Yukimaru, I want you to stay here, don't move or make a sound until I come back, got it?"

Yukimaru, being the good boy that he was, nodded obediently, "Okay."

Guren nodded and turned, leaping away. As soon as she left, Kabuto, still disguised as Reiji, slipped out of the shadows.

The man smirked darkly as he said, "Yukimaru-kun."

The boy turned and smiled, "Ah, Reiji-san."

The disguised man smiled back, betraying none of his intentions, "Come on, let's get you somewhere safe, Guren and the others will handle those enemies."

Yukimaru blinked, "But, Guren-san wanted me to stay here."

Kabuto suppressed a frown, "It's okay, you'll be safer with me. Guren just wants you to be safe, that's all."

Yukimaru frowned for a while before he nodded, "Got it."

Kabuto smirked, "Good, come on."

The man then led Yukimaru to the edge of the lake. Kabuto stared off at a distance, spotting Guren's team fighting Kurenai and her team. He also spotted Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha above the lake. Kabuto frowned as he saw the blonde, because of her, they had failed to get Sasuke, because of her, Orochimaru had to use another body, delaying his plans.

That alone made him furious, as he wanted nothing more than to see his master succeed, or at least, progress in his journey to immortality and knowledge.

Kabuto took a deep breath and calmed himself. Now wasn't the time for that. Eventually, the Akatsuki will go for Hikari, and the girl will get what she deserved.

The man reached into his pouch and brought out a small bottle of pills, hiding it in his hands as he slowly took out one of the pills. Kabuto said, "Hey, Yukimaru-kun, this is actually quite a sight, right?"

The boy nodded, "Yes, Reiji-san. If you ignore the fights on the other side of the lake, of course."

Kabuto smirked, "Well, you can end those battles of course."

Yukimaru blinked, "Hmm? What do you mean?"

The man's smirk darkened as he slowly walked towards the unsuspecting boy.

At the same time, as Guren was running to look for her teammates, the woman suddenly felt a shiver down her spine, as if something bad was about to happen.

The woman decided not to take any chances and quickly turned back, dashing for the point where she left Yukimaru. Her team could handle themselves, but Yukimaru sure as hell couldn't. The boy was too kind for his own good, if someone were to tell him to die for the greater good, the boy would probably do it.

Guren quickly reached the location, and true to her fears, Yukimaru was nowhere to be found. The woman growled in frustration as she couldn't sense his unique chakra signature and punched a tree, leaving a considerably large dent in it.

The woman looked down and saw foot prints and a small glimmer of hope rose in her heart. Guren wasted no time and quickly followed the tracks, moving towards the edge of the lake.

The woman's anger rose as she saw Yukimaru and Reiji at the edge of the lake, with the man having a smirk she would recognise anywhere. There were only two people she knew who would smirk that way, those two being Orochimaru, and Kabuto.

Before she could do anything however, Reiji/Kabuto forced something into Yukimaru's mouth and forced him to swallow and the boy instinctively gagged and coughed after swallowing whatever Kabuto gave him.

Guren growled and was about to move to them when Yukimaru unleashed a huge burst of chakra.

The woman stared in shock before she realized what Kabuto had done. Guren growled and roared, "KABUTO!"

The man only laughed maniacally as a loud roar rang through the area, accompanied by a loud splash, the Sanbi bursting through the surface of the lake.

At the same time, back with Hikari and the others, the last Namikaze cursed as she asked mentally, 'Kyuubi, what happened?'

The eldest bijuu growled, "Someone forced a connection with the Sanbi, it pulled him away forcefully from our shared mindscape. I suggest you move now."

Hikari looked at her sisters, no words were needed as they quickly dashed towards the Sanbi.

They soon arrived to see a familiar face fighting a woman in green clothes. By now, Kabuto had taken off his disguise and was fighting Guren.

Kabuto smirked as he noticed the four girls at a side. The man looked at Guren, "Hey, don't you think you should focus on them first?"

Guren narrowed her eyes as she noticed the four Konoha kunoichi and cursed. She didn't know what they would do, and Kabuto was her enemy now as far as she was concerned, fuck everything Orochimaru wanted her to do.

Kabuto's smirk fell as Guren continued attacking him, shooting shards of crystal at him. The right hand man of Orochimaru yelled, "Guren! Do you know what you are doing now?!"

Guren glared at him, "Of course, my mission is to get the Sanbi, but I'll do it my way, without hurting Yukimaru!"

Kabuto tch'd as he dodged another shard of crystal from Guren. The medic would never admit it, but in terms of combat capabilities, Guren was always above him. Frankly speaking, the only reason why Orochimaru chose him as his right hand man, was because of Kabuto's intelligence and medical skill.

With Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha, the katana user asked, "So, what should we do?"

Asuna and Sinon both looked at Hikari. Out of the four of them, Hikari had the most experience in dealing with Orochimaru and his lackeys, so they figured the blonde would have the best answer.

Hikari noticed the boy unleashing the pillar of chakra, with the Sanbi slowly closing in. The girl closed her eyes for a bit. The girl wanted to kick Kabuto's ass for all the trouble he gave them, but she knew the Sanbi was more important.

The Kyuubi Jinchurikii opened her eyes, "We get the Sanbi first, then deal with Kabuto. We can't risk them sealed for the Juubi."

The other three girls nodded as Hikari yelled, "Hey, Guren, was it?"

The woman turned her head to look at the girl, not letting off her crystal attacks. Hikari continued, seeing she got Guren's attention, "That boy, he's making the Sanbi act like that, right? If this goes on, the boy will be hurt. Deal with Kabuto, we'll help the boy and deal with the bijuu. How's that?"

Guren narrowed her eyes at the Konoha kunoichi. Her job was to get the bijuu, but at the same time, she wanted to protect Yukimaru, and Kabuto had hurt him.

Kabuto cursed, seeing things were heading south, "Guren! Remember what you were sent here for! Are you going to let the Sanbi fall into Konoha's hands?!"

Guren closed her eyes, still not letting off her attacks. She had no doubts that the team of Konoha kunoichi would get the Sanbi for themselves.

But they did say they'd help Yukimaru, and while she didn't want to admit it, the woman had no idea what Kabuto did to him, that was what made Guren mad. Plus, she wasn't sure if she could seal the Sanbi and help Yukimaru at the same time. Hell, she didn't even know if she could help Yukimaru at all, but the blonde kunoichi acted as if she knew a way to do that.

In the end, it all came down to choosing between two of the most important people in her life. Yukimaru, whom she loved like a son, the boy whose birth mother she had killed under Orochimaru's orders, or Orochimaru, the man she respected as a father, the man who saved her from her cursed village, raised and trained her into the kunoichi that she now was.

The woman let out a breath, and she made her choice. Guren opened her eyes and looked at Hikari, and she nodded, "Fine, save Yukimaru, please."

The Uzumaki nodded and turned, "Let's go."

The four Konoha kunoichi turned and leaped away for the Sanbi, leaving Guren to face Kabuto. The medic glared at the woman, "Guren! Are you betraying Orochimaru-sama?!"

Guren glared back with equal, if not more intensity, "You hurt Yukimaru, that's more than enough a reason for me to kill you. And you misunderstand me, I will get the Sanbi to Orochimaru-sama, one way or another."

Kabuto cursed as he dodged a pillar of crystal from the ground and he quickly leaped away as Guren continued her onslaught.

With Hikari, Suguha, Sinon and Asuna, the four reached the shore and they quickly noticed Yukimaru screaming as he released the huge amount of chakra.

Asuna asked, "What should we do?"

Hikari quickly took out her sealing supplies, "We seal the chakra away first."

The Uzumaki quickly made three clones, the clones wasted no time and surrounded the boy, each of them holding a set of sealing supplies.

The original Hikari glanced at her sisters, "Keep the Sanbi busy, I need time to seal the chakra."

The three girls nodded and turned to face the turtle-like bijuu. Suguha sighed, "That sounded like a great plan, but how the hell can we hold him back?"

Asuna stared at the Sanbi, "We just have to do what we can."

Sinon nodded before she grinned, "I think I just have what we need." 'Right, Matatabi?'

She thought the last part to her friend in her seal, and the Niibi grinned, "Yeah, its been a while since I last sparred with him. As of now, since we trained your body, you can handle my full power for about half an hour at most. I'm not Ku- the Kyuubi, so my full chakra capacity isn't as large as his is."

Sinon nodded as she ran forward, "Let's go, Matatabi!"

The archer let the Niibi's chakra in her seal loose, and in an instant, blue flames enshrouded the girl, growing to the size of the Sanbi before the blue flames dispersed to reveal the Niibi in all its glory.

Asuna nodded to Suguha and they both bit their thumbs, smearing their palms with blood before they went through the same set of seals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

In a huge cloud of smoke, Raker and Steiner both appeared, their summoners standing on their heads. The two boss summons were similar in size to the two bijuu, with Steiner floating on the water while Raker stayed above the water, flapping her wings as she did.

The orca boss summon glanced up at Asuna, "The Sanbi and the Niibi? What did you get yourself into, Asuna?"

The auburn haired girl replied, "Sorry, long story short, we're on a mission to find the Sanbi, something happened and caused him to act like this, so we have to keep him busy until Hikari-chan gets here."

Steiner sighed, "Fine, and the Niibi?"

Asuna nodded, "That's Sinon-chan, she became the Niibi Jinchurikii a while ago."

The whale nodded and prepared to face the turtle bijuu.

Meanwhile, Raker was also having a similar conversation with her summoner, "Suguha, what's going on?"

Suguha chuckled awkwardly, after all, summoning your boss summon to fight a Bijuu wasn't something that'd happen normally, "Well, we were on a mission to find the Sanbi, and one thing lead to another, now we have to keep him busy for a while. Oh, and the Niibi is on our side."

Raker sighed, "Okay, nevermind. Let's go."

The two boss summons charged, joining Matatabi. Sinon nodded to the two boss summons, who nodded back.

The whale asked, "So, any idea how we stop him?"

Matatabi stared at the Sanbi, "We just need to stall. Frankly speaking I'm at a little disadvantage here."

The two boss summons nodded. The Niibi was essentially a being made of blue flames, and fighting on top of a lake wasn't exactly giving her any advantages.

Steiner sighed, "Nevermind then..."

The whale quickly launched a blast of pressurized water at the Sanbi. The water based Bijuu quickly erected a wall of water, blocking the water blast.

Raker wasted no time and shot straight up, careful not to let Suguha fall off at the same time, before she let loose a blast of air at the Sanbi.

In response, turtle-like bijuu quickly dove into the water to dodge the attack. Steiner spoke, "Asuna, I'm going under."

The girl nodded and quickly entered her sage mode, which would allow her to breathe underwater to some extent. The whale then dove underwater, seeing the turtle circling them.

The turtle then charged them, and Steiner cursed before he too charged the turtle, mentally telling Asuna to brace herself. The Sanbi then pulled into its shell, just as Steiner released a thick layer of chakra around himself.

The two marine creatures slammed into each other, and Asuna yelped as she grabbed onto Steiner as she tried her best not to fall off.

The Sanbi growled, unlike Steiner, who had used a chakra shroud, which absorbed/reflected most of the damage, the bijuu's shell only provided basic defense, at least when compared to Steiner's chakra shroud. And the impact had hurt like shit.

The bijuu then opened its mouth, blue and red chakra gathering at the opening. Steiner's eyes widened, "Shit... Asuna, brace for impact!"

The whale quickly conjured up the thickest and strongest chakra barrier he could ever make and braced for impact.

But that wasn't necessary, or at least not too necessary, as Matatabi had sensed the rise in chakra underwater and recognised the Bijuudama forming before she made one of her own.

The Sanbi then unleashed the Bijuudama, and Matatabi did the same. As the Bijuudama from the Sanbi shot towards the orca, Matatabi's bijuudama collided into it, causing a huge explosion.

Fortunately, Steiner had his chakra barrier and that had negated all of the damage from the explosion. The Sanbi growled again before he headed for the surface.

Meanwhile, Hikari and her clones were drawing seals around Yukimaru. The Uzumaki could see Guren and Kabuto fighting, and she could feel the Sanbi and her sisters, or at least, Matatabi and the boss summons fighting.

Hikari let out a breath as she and her clones finished drawing one of the strongest chakra suppression seals she knew. It was an overkill to be honest, since it was meant to suppress something on the Kyuubi's scale. But she didn't want to take any chances.

Hikari nodded to her clones and they held their hands in the Rat seal and yelled, "Fuin!"

Immediately, the pillar of chakra vanished, and Yukimaru fell to the ground exhausted. Hikari nodded in satisfaction before she dispelled all the clones except one, "Keep an eye on him, we can't risk any enemies coming for him."

The clone nodded as the original leaped away for the lake. Hikari quickly reached the area where the Sanbi, Matatabi and the boss summons were, just in time as the Sanbi groaned and shook out of his trance.

Matatabi spoke, "Brother, are you fine now?"

The Sanbi groaned and looked up to see his sister, along with two boss summons, "I'm fine now, thank you."

The bijuu then frowned, "But that connection..."

The Kyuubi then spoke in Hikari's mind, "Hikari, let me talk."

The girl nodded and gave him control. The Kyuubi looked at his brother, "I suppose the boy is one of the descendants from one of the people who lived near one of your dens in the past. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that some humans got accustomed or took in your chakra in the past and passed it down to their descendants."

The Sanbi nodded, "Hmm, that makes sense."

Matatabi just sweatdropped before she asked, "So, since our conversation was cut short, what do you wanna do now?"

The Sanbi nodded, "I'll do it, if you two say its fine, then I suppose it'll be fine. So, who's this girl you want me to be sealed into?"

The Kyuubi possessed Hikari pointed his/her thumb at Asuna, "Her."

The Sanbi stared at the girl, along with Steiner. The turtle bijuu nodded, "Cool with me. She's got my respect at least, I still remember bits of what happened under the lake just now. Come on, let's get over with it."

Steiner just looked up at his summoner, "Well, so we battled the Sanbi, and now you become his Jinchurikii, things went well I suppose. I'll see you some other time, Asuna."

The girl just nodded as the whale vanished in a puff of smoke. Raker also gave Suguha a nod and returned to her realm, seeing as she had nothing to do there.

The Kyuubi then looked at Matatabi, "How long do you and Sinon have?"

The cat bijuu nodded, "Around 3 to 5 minutes left."

The Kyuubi nodded and asked Hikari mentally, "Can you get the seal done by then?"

The girl raised an eyebrow as she asked, "Sure, but why?"

The Kyuubi glanced at the still ongoing battle between Kabuto and Guren, "Its no secret that they're here for my brother. Matatabi here is a very intimidating figure to them, so they won't attack us as long as she's here, at least, that's what I believe."

Hikari nodded, "Got it, I'll work on it now."

The Kyuubi nodded and returned control to the girl. Hikari then turned to Asuna, "Asuna-chan, come here."

The girl nodded and walked over to her sister. Hikari said, "I'll be putting the seal on your stomach, like mine, that's okay, right?"

The auburn haired girl nodded. Hikari nodded and said, "Good, lie down here."

Asuna blinked, "Erm, we're on the lake, though..."

The Uzumaki nodded, "Yes, now hurry up."

The girl sighed and just laid on the water, using water walking, or at least, the concept of it to stay above the water. Without another word, Hikari removed Asuna's armor and pulled her clothes up before she started drawing seals on her stomach.

In less than five minutes, Hikari managed to finish a five point seal and she nodded, "Its done."

The girl then looked at the Sanbi, the Bijuu nodded, "I'll go in myself. It's a very annoying feeling when someone seals you, but going into a seal voluntarily is different."

Without waiting for them, the Sanbi dissolved into a ball of chakra and seeped into Asuna's seal, making the girl yelp in surprise at the sudden burst of chakra in her.

Asuna got up from the water and pulled down her clothes before putting on her armor. Suguha asked, "So, do you feel anything different?"

Asuna shook her head, "Not really..."

She then heard the Sanbi speak in her mind, "Apart from an increase in chakra, there shouldn't be any changes... Wait, you have the Hyoton bloodline. Hmm, interesting, it seems that it was dormant for a long time and me sealed into you seemed to activated it."

Asuna blinked, "Eh?"

The Sanbi chuckled, "I'll tell you later. I happen to know a few things about bloodlines, since my past host hated them, and learned quite a lot about them, including yours. And just think when you wanna talk to me."

Asuna nodded and said mentally, 'Okay... Sanbi.'

The bijuu huffed, "My name is Isobu. Unlike my idiot of a brother, I prefer people to call me by name. That aside, you should focus on what's happening outside."

Asuna just nodded and noticed Sinon had returned to her normal form. The Jinchurikii of the Niibi asked, "So, what now?"

Hikari glanced away and saw that Guren and Kabuto were nowhere to be seen. At that moment, she received the memories from her clone and smiled, "It's over, come on. Let's find the others and we can go home."

Earlier, after a while, Kabuto decided to retreat. The man knew if the fight went on, he would eventually lose. So as he landed on the ground after dodging yet another pillar of crystal, he dropped a smoke bomb and an explosion tag at the same time, causing a huge explosion and a cloud of smoke.

Kabuto then quickly vanished via Shunshin, coupled with the smoke screen, Guren never had the chance to catch him.

Soon, the cloud dispersed, and Kabuto was nowhere to be seen. The woman growled in frustration, since she had let the slimeball of a man run away.

Deciding that getting angry wouldn't help, the woman quickly headed for where she remembered Yukimaru was. The woman landed on the ground and spotted the Konoha kunoichi sitting by the tree looking after Yukimaru, still unconscious.

Guren narrowed her eyes as Hikari stood up. The clone spoke, "Guren, right?"

The woman nodded, "Is he okay?"

The girl nodded, "Yeah, I sealed the excess chakra from him, so there shouldn't be any problems."

Guren nodded, "I see. Thank you."

Hikari nodded before she asked, "So, its no secret you're here for the Sanbi. What are you gonna do now?"

Guren walked over and picked up Yukimaru, "What I want now, is to keep him safe... My team... They're all dead, aren't they?"

Hikari didn't reply, and Guren just turned away with Yukimaru in her arms, "I'll find a safe place, probably a village somewhere, for him. Away from everything, from all this."

The Uzumaki nodded, "I suppose I can wish you luck on that."

Guren nodded, "I hope we don't see each other again."

Hikari sighed and dispelled herself, returning the memories to her original self, the last thing she saw being Guren leaping away with the young boy in her arms.

Back with the team from Konoha, as the two teams leaped through the trees, Hikari heard the Kyuubi speak, his voice grim, "Hikari... The Yonbi, Gobi and Rokubi... They've just been sealed into the Gedo Mazo."

XXX

Done. So that's chapter 40. Wow, finally 40 chapters. And we're only halfway through the Bijuu arc. So, after the Nanabi, it will either be fighting Pein, or straight away to the Aincrad arc, and I'll put the fight with Pein during the Underworld arc.

So yeah, tell me what you guys think, should I have them fight and deal with Pein after the Nanabi sub-arc, or after the Aincrad arc?

Review please. Until next time.


	41. Chapter 41

Hey, here's the newest chapter of this story.

 **Antex-the Legendary Zoroark** , thanks for your review man. I'll probably do the Pein fight after this then the Aincrad arc.

To the **Guest,** well, whether Fuu dies or not, depends on your reviews, as in everyones. If she dies, well, she dies, if she lives, I'll pair her with Shino.

To that other **Guest** , yeah, that's what I planned to do. And yeah, he'll need a lotta stamina... Haha

So yeah, here's the 41st chapter.

XXX

A while later, Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon were in the Hokage's office. Tsunade sighed as Hikari gave her report. The Hokage had dismissed Kurenai and her team, but told Hikari and her team to stay.

The last Senju said, "So, the Yonbi, Gobi and Rokubi are captured..."

Hikari nodded, "Yeah..."

Before she could speak, Hikari heard the Kyubi say, "Hikari, make a shadow clone, and tell Sinon and Asuna to do the same. I thought about it and using shadow clones would make it easier for us to talk."

The girl nodded and made a clone, "Sinon-chan, Asuna-chan, I think you two should make a clone, that way Matatabi and Isobu can also talk."

The two girls nodded and created a shadow clone each as the three bijuu quickly took control of the clones. The Kyuubi spoke, "To be frank, I don't know if they need it to be in order when they capture us. But the Akatsuki started off by coming for us in order of our tails."

Jiraiya nodded, "That's true, so they probably never needed to do that in the first place, that's where they got us."

Isobu grunted, which was weird with Asuna's face, "What bothers me is how fast they got the others... So- the Yonbi, Gobi and Rokubi are by no means weak at all, even if they are sealed in their hosts."

The Kyuubi nodded, "That's true, but they have the Gedo Mazo, meaning they have the Rinnegan."

Asuna then asked, "So, what do we do now?"

Matatabi sighed, "Rest up first. The previous battle wasn't as strenous as it would've been. But we have to move as soon as possible."

Isobu nodded, "Sealing all three bijuu into the statue takes a lot of chakra and stamina, I'd say they'd have to rest a week before they can move again. Even with the Rinnegan."

Hikari nodded, "Right now, the only villages left with the Bijuu, are Konohagakure, Takigakure and Kumogakure. So, if we compare between the three villages, the easiest one to get a Jinchurikii..."

Tsunade nodded, "Takigakure, the Nanabi."

Jiraiya nodded, "I'll go on to Taki first, better inform Shibuki first. Hopefully, he can send the Jinchurikii of the Nanabi to us. That'd protect help protect them."

The Hokage nodded, "Go ahead, you four rest up first, I'll update you once I get everything sorted."

The four girls nodded before Tsunade added, "And I think you should go check up on Kirito. While you were out on a mission, he... overworked himself, if you could say that. Of course, physically he's fine, but well, just wanted to let you girls know."

The four girls nodded, regardless of how normal Kirito was, or rather, how nothing bad happened, the blacksmith still had the cursed mark. Sure, Hikari had made sure none of Orochimaru's influence was left in the seal, and unlike Sasuke's mark, which Hikari sealed away, Kirito's mark was left unsealed. Plus, technically it should have stopped functioning.

But for some unknown reason, the seal was still usable, and Hikari, Jiraiya and Kirito all had found nothing bad about it, so they let Kirito use it. But after what happened recently, there might have been something they missed in the seal.

The girls nodded and they left the office.

Meanwhile, in Kirito's room, the swordsman was looking at the cursed mark on his neck. Ever since he gained the mark, Kirito started having weird dreams.

The dreams mostly happened when he used or did something related to the mark. They felt real, in fact, they were more like memories than dreams. The young man was pretty sure he had never met the people in his dreams, at least in real life. But he felt like he knew them. No, he did know them. But at the same time, he didn't.

That troubled him a lot. And that was just the people that appeared in the dreams. He also dreamt of places that didn't exist in the Elemental Nations, at least, not that he knew of, especially that place where that huge statue, the Granteed, was held.

If there was someplace like that, it would surely be well known through the continent, at least, rumors would flow around.

And the weirdest thing was that when he woke up, he'd remember every single detail from the dreams. How the people looked, what he ate, everything. He'd remember everything, but only for a brief moment, then everything faded away. Of course, he'd remember the gist of everything that happened, but the details just disappeared from his mind.

Kirito then glanced over to the Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor. Sometimes, he'd see an image of two similar but different swords over his own. But he just didn't know where or when he saw them.

The young man sighed and he stood up, walking over to the kitchen to get a cup of water. He knew he probably shouldn't dwell much on it, it would drive him crazy if he did. Dreams can get pretty weird after all, even if he was sure they wouldn't be as crazy as his were.

Then, the door opened, telling him the girls were back. Kirito quickly washed the cup, placing the cup on the rack before he walked out.

The young man waved, "Hey."

Immediately the four girls checked over him. Hikari, Suguha and Sinon checked over him while Asuna ran a brief diagnosis jutsu she had learned a while back. Kirito blinked, "Erm, girls?"

Suguha frowned, "Kirito-kun, are you okay?"

The other three girls nodded as they stared at him. Kirito sighed, "Tsunade, huh..."

Asuna finished her diagnosis and nodded, "Physically you're fine. Hikari-chan, can you check his seal?"

The girl nodded and quickly looked at his mark, channeling chakra into it, which also caused a small sharp sting in Kirito's neck.

The blacksmith winced, "Hey! I'm okay!"

Hikari ignored him and nodded, "The seal is fine."

As the girls checked over him, Kirito sighed, "Girls, I'm fine. I just overworked myself."

He didn't want to tell them about the dreams, the mark and the power it exerted. It didn't have anything to do with Orochimaru, hell, it wasn't bad at all. But Kirito knew if the girls found out, they would have one more problem on their plate. Hikari, and Sinon already had to deal with the Akatsuki, he didn't want more problems for them.

After checking him over once more, the girls relented. Of course, Tsunade had said he was physically fine, but the girls wanted to make sure.

After the four girls settled down, Kirito sighed and sat on the sofa, "So, how did the mission go?"

The girls smiled, Hikari spoke up, "It went smoothly, well, as smoothly as it could have been."

Asuna nodded, "And now I'm the Sanbi Jinchurikii."

Kirito blinked, "Wait... what?"

Sinon nodded, "Yeap, well, being sealed in a Jinchurikii, apparently is the safest way to keep the Bijuu from the Akatsuki, for now anyways. So the Kyubi, Matatabi and Isobu talked about it and Asuna-chan became Isobu's Jinchurikii."

Kirito nodded but was a bit confused, "Isobu?"

Hikari nodded, "The Sanbi's name. You know Matatabi is the Niibi's name, right? Isobu is the Sanbi's name, and I still don't know the Kyuubi's name... Stubborn old fox."

The girl then heard the fox say in her mind, "Once you can fully use my full form, then I will tell you, got it?"

Hikari sighed and nodded before Kirito asked, "So, did you encounter any of the Akatsuki?"

Suguha shook her head, "No, they were hunting the Yonbi, Gobi and Rokubi. Now, only the three of us, the Nanabi, and the Hachibi in Kumogakure are left."

Asuna nodded, "But according to Isobu, Matatabi and the Kyuubi, they'd need to rest for at least a week, after sealing three bijuu into the statue."

Kirito nodded, "I see. Then I guess you should rest. Now that three of you are Jinchurikii, the Akatsuki will come hunt for you."

The three Jinchurikii nodded before Kirito sighed and face-palmed, "Seriously, first Sinon-chan, now Asuna-chan... What's next? Suguha-chan becomes the Nanabi Jinchurikii and I turn out to be a god from another world?"

The girls just laughed as the sole male of the household sighed. Kirito then asked, "So, what now?"

Sinon replied, "Hokage-sama said we should rest for now. Jiraiya is on his way to Takigakure to warn them, hopefully also sent the Nanabi's Jinchurikii here. That'd be safer for them."

Kirito nodded, "I see, that's good then. What about the Hachibi, if I remember correctly, he's in Kumogakure, right?"

Hikari nodded, "Yeah, but since its Kumogakure, I don't think we need to worry much. That is, unless a full scale invasion happens."

Kirito nodded before he asked, "So, you girls hungry?"

The four girls nodded before Kirito got to cooking.

Two days later, in the Namikaze compound private training room/grounds, Asuna, Sinon and Hikari were training their bijuu forms. Well, Asuna and Sinon were, Hikari was still working on eight tails.

Kirito and Suguha sat by a side as they watched them. Suguha sighed, "Well, they're getting stronger... This is just soooo unfair!"

Kirito chuckled as Suguha whined about the three girls getting stronger. He knew the girl wasn't jealous about them having bijuu, it was a burden and a curse in its own. But being a Jinchurikii did have its perks, if you ignore all the down sides with it.

The three girls were now sparring using their chakra cloaks in the first version, all three girls 'wearing' the liquid-like chakra cloak as they sparred.

Earlier when they were discussing about their abilities, it turned out every bijuu would have a tiny part of their abilities passed down as a trait to their Jinchurikii.

As the Kyuubi was the most balanced Bijuu among all nine of them, and he didn't exactly have a specific element, Hikari didn't receive any notable abilities. But what she did have, was improved physical traits and an increased chakra capacity.

When they compared past Uzumaki to her, at her age, she had a relatively large chakra reserve, well, it could be argued that it was just by chance or her genes that caused that, but the Kyuubi had still pointed out that Hikari did have improved physical abilities and stamina.

As for Matatabi, Sinon had received the ability to use the cat's famed blue flames. While not as strong as the actual flames the Niibi used in her full Bijuu form, the blue flames Sinon could use were actually quite powerful, stronger than most normal Katon jutsu, at the very least.

From Isobu, Asuna had her proficiency in Suiton jutsu increased tenfold. The girl now required less chakra for every Suiton jutsu she needed, and she could draw more water from the atmosphere with less effort. Isobu also managed to activate her dormant Hyoton bloodline, which explained her surname, Yuki.

Upon realising that, Asuna realised that Haku was her relative, and she somewhat regretted to not have known him better. But they decided to let the past remain the past and not dwell much into it.

Back to the present, the three Jinchurikii stood in a three-way lock, none of them showing any signs of weakness.

All three of them were only using one tail, as they had agreed before the spar began, as Sinon could only access two tails at most, Asuna having access to three tails at most, while Hikari had access to 8 tails.

After staring at each other for another minute, the three girls charged forward. While Sinon had started implementing her bow and arrows to the chakra cloaks, with Asuna doing the same with her rapier, the two girls were fighting barehanded, just as Hikari did. The Uzumaki had of course, promised not to use her chains, but she didn't say anything about chakra arms.

As the three girls closed in to each other, they all swung their fists at each other. The collision between all three Jinchurikii caused a huge cloud of dust to cover them.

But the dust was blown away as Asuna and Sinon decided to gang up in Hikari, Asuna aiming a kick at Hikari's head, while Sinon threw a punch at the Uzumaki's abdomen.

The last Namikaze just smirked as she used two chakra arms and grabbed Asuna by her leg and Sinon by her arm before she swung them around, sending them flying into each other before they crashed onto the ground.

The two girls got up as quickly as they hit the ground. Sinon and Asuna nodded to each other before they spread out, flanking Hikari.

The two girls then sped through handseals, and Asuna sent an ice dragon, while Sinon sent a stream of blue flames at Hikari.

The Uzumaki didn't visibly react to the attacks, instead, she let out a deep breath and raised her right fist. Then she slammed it hard into the ground, causing a huge crater and a large shockwave, which blew the ice dragon and the stream of blue flames away, or rather, blew them off track, letting them strike random parts of the training ground.

Without another warning, the three girls charged again.

A while later, in Amegakure, Zetsu had just finished giving Pein his report. The leader of the Akatsuki sighed, "I see, good job as usual, Zetsu."

Zetsu nodded before he asked, or rather, the dark side asked, "So, now Konoha has the Kyubi, Niibi and the Sanbi. What will you do?"

Pein replied, "Keep watching them. For now, we rest. Itachi, Kisame, Konan and I need to rest. Sealing all three Bijuu took a lot more than I expected."

Zetsu nodded and wordlessly sunk into the ground. As soon as the plant man left, Pein looked out from the tower, overlooking the forever raining village.

The man thought back on sealing the three Bijuu. By using his chakra rods, he had managed to put all three Jinchurikii in a dead-like state, so it saved them the trouble of holding three raging Jinchurikii.

Then came sealing the three Bijuu. As Hikari had managed to kill off Sasori, Deidara, Kakuzu and Hidan, they were short on four members. Zetsu had managed to collect the rings from the corpses, so he could still seal the Bijuu.

But due to the lack of four members, Peinhad to use his paths to replace them. Normally that wouldn't have worked, but he had pumped in more chakra into his paths, so they barely managed to seal the three Bijuu before they gave out.

That meant he had to wait a week before his paths were functional again. The process also took a lot out of Itachi, Kisame and Konan, so they needed rest too.

The man then narrowed his eyes in anger. He had approached Madara to stand in for one of the pillars, but the man had just shrugged it off and told him to deal with it himself.

But that wasn't what ticked him off, no, it was the arrogance in Madara's voice and that blatant disregard for his words. It was as if Madara was looking down upon him, and that infuriated him.

The dead body of Yahiko breathed heavily, calming himself before he realised what he was doing. Lately, Nagato noticed he was living more in Yahiko's body more and more. It was as if he was using his friend's body as a replacement for his ill body.

Nagato sighed before he pushed those thoughts away as he watched over his village again.

The next day, Team Yugao, Team Kurenai and Team Kakashi were on their way to Takigakure. The previous day, Shibuki had agreed to Jiraiya's suggestion for Fuu to be sent to Konohagakure.

The Sannin had immediately sent a message to Tsunade, and she decided to send Kurenai, Kakashi, Yugao and their respective teams to escort Fuu back.

Normally she would have only sent a team, but this time, the Hokage didn't want to take any chances, so she decided to send three teams to get Fuu back, along with Jiraiya. That would definitely ward off the Akatsuki.

Tsunade would also have sent Kirito, but after what happened to him the past few days, the woman decided against it. Besides, even if he was listed as one of her ninja, Kirito wasn't exactly one of her subordinates, more like a freelance mercenary.

The Hokage also knew full well where his loyalties laid, hence another reason she rarely sent him on missions. Besides, she only sent him on missions with Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon.

The Hokage sighed and looked at the stack of paper work on her desk. True, compared to a few years ago, the amount of paperwork she had now was child's play, but it was still annoying, as the many civilians, mostly parents, would send in stupid requests, like reduce standards in the ninja academy as their children couldn't take how hard it was, or, how she should reprimand the academy instructors because of how strict they were.

Tsunade just sighed and face palmed at those requests. She didn't know why, but as of lately, those parents were getting overprotective, too overprotective. Those children are training to be ninja for god's sake, that meant they were training to kill, to fight.

The Hokage sighed again before she took the request she was looking at and threw it into a pile of similar requests, all ready to be disposed of.

Meanwhile, in a random location, Zetsu was reporting to Madara, or at least, the man who called himself Madara.

The masked man nodded, "Thank you, Zetsu."

He turned and mused aloud, "So, they're going to get the Nanabi now. That's a bit of a problem, on one hand, it makes looking for the remaining Bijuu easier."

Madara then turned to Zetsu, "Whatever, we have nothin to lose, not yet anyways. Zetsu, I believe its time to test out the White Zetsu clones, what do you think?"

Both parts of the plant man only smirked as they got to work.

An hour later, the three teams were at the entrance of Takigakure, which was a huge waterfall. Kakashi nodded, "We're here."

Sakura asked, "We're here? I don't see the village."

Hikari grinned, "Its a hidden village, come on."

Ignoring the pinkette's confused face, the others just followed Kakashi and Hikari. As they walked, Sasuke just chuckled as he patted Sakura's shoulder, "Come on, it's your first time visiting another shinobi village, right? Not every village is like Konoha."

The medic just sighed as she followed the others into the waterfall, going into the underwater caves that'd lead them to the village.

As soon as they entered the caves, they were met with a team of Taki ninja. One of them asked, "Halt, state your business."

Kakashi smoothly took out the letter he received from the Hokage and showed it to the man. The Taki ninja nodded and moved aside, signalling his team to let them pass.

As they walked, Kiba commented, "That's strict..."

Shino nodded, "Of course, they don't have geographical advantage like the other villages do. Besides, if you're living in a village surrounded by all five major ninja villages, you'd want to be tight on security. Takigakure is known for not being invaded for so many years for a reason."

The Inuzuka just nodded as the others followed quietly.

Soon, they exited the caves to see a village. It wasn't as big as Konoha, but considering where they just were, it was quite big.

Sasuke said, "Wow, for a place hidden so well, its actually quite big."

Hikari grinned, "Of course. This place is built around a huge tree, and with several techniques they use, along with the waterfall and the thick forest, they managed to build a barrier around the village."

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah, that said, we'll go find Jiraiya. You guys can explore around first."

Yugao and Kurenai nodded in agreement. Normally the whole team would be required to follow them, but since the group was so large, it wasn't necessary. So only the Jounin would go to the office.

Asuna nodded, "Cool, I guess."

The thre Jounin nodded before they headed for the office. As the Jounin left, Sakura asked, "So, now what?"

Suguha looked at Hikari, "Hikari-chan, you've been here before right? Any place you wanna show us?"

The Uzumaki pondered a while before she saw Shino and remembered a place Fuu showed her.

The girl said, "Well, Shino, there's a place with a lot of rare insects, if I remember correctly, wanna have a look?"

Hikari swore she saw a glint in the quiet man's eyes as he nodded, "Sure."

The group then followed Hikari towards a secluded area in the village, which was located at one of the corners of the village. True enough, the place was filled with bugs.

Kiba blinked, "Holy shit... You weren't kidding when you said there were a lot of bugs here..."

Hikari nodded and giggled upon seeing the slightly creeped out faces Sasuke, Sakura, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha were having. She figured Hinata and Kiba were used to it due to Shino, but that didn't matter anyways.

The Uzumaki explained, "You see, Fuu is the Jinchurikii of the Nanabi, who also happens to be a kabutomushi. So she showed me this place when I was here during my trip."

Sasuke nodded, not wanting to pry, and wanting to get away as soon as possible. The Uchiha started to back away before he was held by Shino.

Sasuke asked, "What?"

Shino motioned to his feet, where several beetles were moving by his feet, "Careful not to kill them."

Sasuke just nodded as he moved his feet away from the beetles. Then they heard a voice from behind, "I was wondering who was brave enough to come here, but turns out I got worried for nothing."

Everyone turned to see a green haired girl grinning at them. Hikari smiled and waved, "Hey, Fuu-chan."

The Jinchurikii of the Seven tails smiled, "It's been a while, Hikari-chan. So, these are your friends?"

Hikari nodded and they introduced themselves. After that, Shino frowned, his inspects were restless upon seeing Fuu. It took everything henhad to keep them from rushing out of his body.

The young man asked, "Fuu, was it? What are you? My colonies are restless ever since we met you."

Fuu blinked before she realized it was her status as the Nanabi Jinchurikii, "Oh, ermm, you're an Aburame, right? Sorry, bugs tend to... like me, it comes with being Choumei's host."

Shino nodded, "I see. So, you work with bugs?"

Fuu shook her head, "Not exactly. I have a deeper connection with them, that's all. I mean, I can understand them, but I can't actually control them or work with them like you do."

The Aburame nodded before he asked, "I'm curious though, I mean, these insects, they're supposed to be incredibly rare, even in the Forest of Death back in Konoha. How do you have so many of them here?"

Fuu blushed slightly, "Well, when you're the Jinchurikii of a huge seven tailed beetle..."

She trailed off, and Shino nodded in understanding. For the next half an hour, the two talked about all the bugs in existence. Shino also showed Fuu his kikaichu and the two hit off easily.

At a side, Sasuke and Kiba blinked, the Uchiha said, "This is the first time I've seen Shino talk so much..."

Kiba could only nod in agreement while the girls started talking among themselves about how Shino and Fuu would do as a couple.

After a while, Hikari fake coughed loudly, getting the two insect enthusiasts' attention, "I'd hate to interrupt, but as you can see, we don't really want to stand here all day."

Fuu blushed slightly, while Shino seemed indifferent, but if you looked closely, you can notice the red hue on his cheeks. The green haired girl nodded, "Sorry, so, its your first time here, right? Apart from Hikari-chan of course."

Everyone nodded before Fuu said, "Well, come on, I'll show you around."

No one disagreed and they followed Fuu around the village. As they walked, Fuu would tell them about the village and point out the better parts of the village.

As they walked, Fuu said to Suguha, "Hey, you're a wind user, right?"

The katana user blinked in surprise, "How did you know?"

Fuu grinned, "I'm somewhat of one. I can use scale powder and I have a natural compatibility with wind jutsu, something the Nanabi gave me. It also helps me feel the wind around a person, so to speak, so I can tell how well a person is with wind jutsu. And you seemed very connected to the wind."

Suguha nodded, "I see, I wonder if it has anything to do with my sage mode..."

Fuu tilted her head, "Sage mode?"

Hikari piped in, "Yeap, its somethin the four of us have. Well, Jiraiya-sensei has one, but his is still incomplete. Its where we connect with our surroundings and take in nature chakra, which enhances our abilities."

Fuu nodded, "I see, I guess that's a possibility."

The Jinchurikii of the Seven tails grinned, "Then I think we can work together well! My fighting style relies heavily on wind jutsu and my wings."

Suguha laughed slightly, "Then, let's have a spar when we reach Konoha."

Fuu nodded with a smile before they continued walking around the village.

After a while, as they were walking, a Taki ninja approached them, "Fuu, Shibuki-sama wants you at the office."

Fuu nodded and glanced apologetically at the group of Konoha ninja, "Sorry guys, gotta go."

Hikari nodded, "It's okay, I think I know what it's about."

Fuu blinked in confusion before she vanished along with the Taki ninja. With Fuu, she quickly reached the office and saw Shibuki, Kurenai, Yugao, Kakashi and Jiraiya waiting for her.

The leader of Takigakure greeted, "Hello, Fuu."

Fuu waved, "Shibuki-sama, what's up?"

Shibuki gestured to his guests, "They're here to pick you up for Konoha, along with their teams."

Fuu nodded to the four Jounin in respect, knowing who they are, or at least, some of them. (technically Jiraiya is a Jounin, as there isn't any higher rank than Jounin, apart from the Hokage)

Jiraiya smiled and looked at Shibuki, "Thanks, Shibuki."

The man shook his head, "No, if anything, we should thank you. This will keep both Fuu and the village safe."

Fuu kept silent, she knew of the Akatsuki, Jiraiya and Hikari had told them a while ago. The girl knew Taki wasn't strong enough to fend off a group of S-ranked nuke ninja, so her presence was a risk to them, even if most of the villagers were warming up to her.

The girl then heard the Nanabi's voice, "Hey, it's gonna be fine, I think it'll be better even. There's Hikari, and I'm pretty sure that archer and the girl carrying the rapier are Jinchurikii too. So you won't be alone, plus, there's that Shino guy too."

Fuu nodded before she realized what the bijuu had said and blushed, 'Choumei! I just met the guy, sure, he's cool! But I don't even know what he looks like under that coat!'

The bijuu just laughed as Fuu sighed. She then noticed the others looking at her, no doubt knowing she was talking to her tenant. Fuu asked, "So, now what?"

Shibuki cleared his throat and looked at the Konoha ninja, "I suppose you should get going?"

Kakashi nodded, "Of course, thank you, Shibuki-sama."

The man just nodded before the five left the office and went to meet up with the other Konoha ninja.

A while later, the group had left the hidden village and were on their way back. As they leapt through the trees, Shino noticed Fuu's expression and asked, "Fuu-san, are you okay?"

The girl forced a smile, "I'm fine, I'll miss Taki, but I'll be fine."

Shino just nodded, ignoring the shocked faces Kiba and Sasuke were sporting as they leapt past another tree.

Then, Jiraiya said urgently, "Stop!"

Everyone stopped just in time as a man wearing an orange swirl mask and the Akatsuki robes appeared in front of them.

The masked man spoke, "It's been a while, Kyuubi, and Hatake Kakashi."

Hikari glared at the man, recognising his status as an Akatsuki member. Kakashi on the other hand, stared at him confused, he had not met any Akatsuki members that wore that mask, nor did any Akatsuki members that he met, apart from Kisame and Itachi, left alive.

Asuna also glared at him, "Akatsuki..."

The man chuckled, "Call me Tobi, and just a note, I might wear this robe, but I assure you, I'm different from them."

Sinon drew her bow and arrow, "That's what they always say."

The man chuckled, "True, but I wouldn't be so relaxed, Niibi."

Sasuke drew his sword and stared at the man, his Sharingan flaring, "Oh yeah? You and what army?"

Tobi laughed, "I'm glad you asked. To answer your question though, this one."

He snapped his fingers and in an instant, countless White Zetsu clones appeared around them from the trees. Tobi spread his arms in a grand manner, "Now, let the games begin!"

XXX

Done. So this is the 41st chapter. So, here comes the big question, DOES FUU LIVE OR DIE?!

Review your answer, or pm me. I'll decide once I have at least 3 to 5 answers. So yeah, until the next chapter.


	42. Chapter 42

Hello! So, quite a number of you want Fuu to live. Well, then, since it won't really affect the flow, I'll just have to keep her alive then.

To **Brin,** that's true. Thanks for your suggestions.

To the **Guest,** since Hikari has Dragon summons, it'd make sense that she has the dragon version of the sage mode, no?

To **Antex-The Legendary Zoroark** , thanks for tbe vote. To how Nagato ponders about him living in Yahiko's body, it doesn't really mean anything. Just a reminder for himself that he is human, not a god. That part is a very important aspect I'm trying to bring out, as in canon, Nagato had a god-complex until Naruto talked to him. Here, I'm trying to remove that complex by having him realise it himself.

So yeah, thanks for the votes, here's the next chapter.

XXX

Tobi laughed darkly as the army of Zetsu clones charged. As his battalion charged the Konoha shinobi, and former Taki kunoichi, the masked man slowly backed away into hiding.

Tobi was really looking forward to this experiment. According to his calculations, everyone of those Zetsu clones had the physical abilities of Senju Hashirama, but as they were clones, they had none of his combat experience.

Nonetheless, it was a good test for the test. Sure, he had sparred with them on occasion, but the clones never had actual experience.

Then came the next objective, the Nanabi, it was a secondary one, so it didn't really matter if that succeeded or not. Of course, it would be for the best if it did. But now Tobi wasn't really focused on that.

With the Konoha ninja (and former Taki kunoichi), they were fending off the White Zetsu clones as hard as they could.

Kiba cursed as he punched one of the clones away, "I can't catch their scent! Its like they're not even here!"

Shino nodded, "Its the same as my bugs. I can't lock on to them."

Hinata frowned as she Juuken'd another clone away, "They have chakra, but their signatures are identical, but that doesn't tell us much, since they're clones."

Hikari said as her chains flung a few White Zetsu clones away, "Whatever they are, they just keep coming back."

True to her words, the White Zetsu clones kept coming back up, even if they were hit at places that were fatal or with sure-kill shots.

Sasuke growled silently as he sliced a clone apart with his chokuto, only for the wound to regenerate as if it were nothing. The Uchiha yelled, "This is getting nowhere!"

Kakashi nodded as he cut off the head of a clone with his tanto before he kicked the head away, separating the head from the body. To his ire, the head melted away into a white pile of goo while a new head appeared on the supposedly beheaded clone.

Sinon sighed in annoyance as she kicked a clone away, "What is this? Resident Evil? If we can't kill it, might as well obliterate it."

The archer drew her bow and nocked three arrows with explosive tags, then she let the arrows loose at a clone, all three arrows hitting the same clone, causing it to explode, leaving nothing of the clone remaining.

Yugao frowned as she dodged punches from the Zetsu clones before she tagged a clone with three explosive tags, destroying it as the tags went off, "I guess we're better off using explosive tags..."

Immediately, everyone started using explosive tags on the clones. Well, almost. Sasuke got fed up and started using his Mangekyou and spammed Amateratsu on the clones, while Hikari used the Rasengan to completely erase the Zetsu clones.

Tobi frowned from his hiding spot as the Konoha shinobi started to take down his army. Granted, he still had a lot where those came from, and there still were a lot of White Zetsu clones fighting the group. But sooner or later, they finish them off, and he'd lose his chance for his second objective.

The masked man decided to ignore the others and focused on his sole target, one Jinchurikii of the Nanabi.

With Fuu, she was having a great time. Her usual fighting style of using scale powder, coupled along with explosive tagged kunai, was proving to be effective against the White Zetsu clones.

The former Taki kunoichi glanced around. Everyone was doing great, and they were taking down all the clones one by one. Sooner or later, they'd clean up the clones and get Tobi.

Then all of a sudden, she found the masked man in front of her. Fuu glared at him and tried to punch him, only for her fist to phase through him, causing her to lose her balance.

Fuu's eyes widened before she quickly jumped forward, out of Tobi's reach as she glared at him, "You, what was that?!"

Tobi laughed darkly, "Not bad, those are good instincts. A second later, and I would have had you."

Fuu glared at him as she briefly glanced around her. The White Zetsu clones were doing a really good job keeping the others occupied, so no help any time soon.

Tobi spoke, "You know, I've heard a lot about you. Fuu of Taki, Jinchurikii of the Nanabi no Kabutomushi, known to use explosive powder and wings, along with other things. Let's see, if you live up to your reputation, no?"

Fuu didn't reply, instead, she thought, 'Choumei!'

The Bijuu instantly obliged, sending the red chakra around her, forming a three tailed chakra cloak. The girl also spread her wings, and she released a considerably large amount of scale powder.

Tobi frowned as he easily noticed the powder filling the air. He was lucky his mask had a filter in it, or he would have possibly inhaled the possibly poisonous powder.

He then looked at the green-haired girl, oddly standing there. Jinchurikii had always tended to favour close combat when using their chakra cloaks, but Fuu was just standing there.

Tobi's eyes widened, and he barely had the time to leap away as several chakra arms shot out of the ground in an attempt to grab him. If possible, his eyes widened even more, as the arms changed direction and followed him in midair.

The man quickly made himself intangible, allowing the chakra arms to pass by him harmlessly. Fuu's eyes widened slightly as she saw what happened. But she didn't let that deter her.

Without missing a beat, the girl launched herself forward with her chakra arms, holding an explosion tag in her hands. Fuu easily reached the masked man and thrust her hand forward.

Tobi narrowed his eyes and swiftly dodged the first few strikes before he raised his forearm to block Fuu's attack by the wrist. The man chuckled as he saw the tag in her hands before he kicked her away, "Nice try, but not good enough."

The man had learned from his fight with Minato after all. Fighting against a Hiraishin user, even just once, would teach you a lot. Compared to the Fourth Hokage, Fuu's attacks were child's play.

(Note. Everything that happened that lead to the Kyuubi sealed in Hikari, is exactly the same as in cannon. So Tobi did fight Minato.)

Fuu glared at the man as she thought, 'Choumei, let's take this up a notch.'

The Bijuu grinned and happily obliged, channeling even more chakra into Fuu, giving her five tails in the Second Version of the Chakra Cloak.

Upon seeing the more advanced version of the cloak, Tobi narrowed his eyes slightly warily, but at the same time, he was also smirking, 'Good, let's test this out.'

The man brought out a small black receiver from his cloak. This had been one of his experiments, considering he had Hashirama's cells and Madara's cells in his body, plus he had been given Madara's eyes, which had evolved into the Rinnegan, which was now in Pein's possession, he was still probably eligible for using the receivers.

Tobi quickly stabbed the black receiver into his left palm, pushing it in as he grunted in pain. After fully pushing it in, and fortunately fully integrating it into his body, Tobi let out a dark chuckle, dark purple chakra chains forming from his left palm.

The man let out a breath as he jumped away just in time to dodge Fuu's punch, "Now, let's have a little... test, shall we?"

Fuu just glared at the man as she charged again, noting the warning Choumei gave her about the chains. The girl sent a few swipes at the man, but to her ire, the attacks only passed through him as if he was a ghost.

Fuu tch'd and jumped away to avoid the chains. For some reason, seeing those chains gave her chills up the spin, and she didn't like it.

Choumei spoke in her mind, "Fuu, those chains, they are from the Gedo Mazo. Only someone with father's eyes can wield them, but I don't sense it at all."

The green-haired girl nodded as she stared at Tobi warily. The man glanced at the chains, which seemed to flicker for a second, and said, "Hmm, so, its still a work in progress. Whatever, I suppose its time to end this, Nanabi, no?"

Fuu was about to charge when Tobi started to swirl out of existence, to her surprise. The girl quickly glanced around at all directions, knowing full well he could appear anywhere.

After a good twenty seconds, Fuu's eyes widened before she quickly leaped forward. But she was too late, as a number of purple glowing chains wrapped around her.

Then the chains glowed brighter, and Fuu felt her seal explode with pain, causing her to scream as she immediately lost any strength to fight back.

In the seal, the same chains wrapped around Choumei, slowly dragging the chakra, or rather the soul, of the Nanabi from the seal. The Bijuu cursed and yelled, "Kurama!"

The eldest brother of the otherother Bijuu heard his younger sibling's cry and said to Hikari urgently, "Hikari, the Nanabi's getting taken. Move, now!"

The girl didn't need another word as she kicked a Zetsu clone away and drew a Hiraishin kunai. Hikari glanced to the closest person, which was Suguha and yelled, "Suguha-chan!"

The swordswoman nodded and ran over to her, seeing the kunai in Hikari's hand. Easily spotting Fuu, Hikari then threw the kunai at Tobi, holding Suguha's hand, before the two vanished in a flash of yellow.

With Tobi, the man was grinning darkly. He could see the Nanabi's chakra/astral form exiting Fuu's body. The man brought out a flask enhanced with many seals and prepared to bring the Nanabi into the container.

Then, all of a sudden, he was blinded by a bright flash of yellow before he was slashed at the shoulder, severing his left arm from his shoulder before he was kicked away.

The man screamed in pain as his vision slowly cleared, his only visible eye glaring hatefully at the two that sliced off his arm, Suguha and Hikari.

Granted, Tobi could easily replace his lost arm, but he still felt that one. Contrary to what most believed, pain was an important factor to humans. It told them how much damage they sustained, and it warned them if they were dying or not. True, most warriors trained to withstand pain, but being able to withstand it, and not feeling it at all, were two totally different things.

That was why Tobi still maintained the pain receptors, everytime his body got damaged. But still, he didn't enjoy the pain.

However, Hikari and Suguha were focused on other things, more specifically, the chakra of the Nanabi that was still in an astral-like form, floating in the air. As soon as the Uzumaki saw the bijuu, in her own seal, the Kyuubi raised an eyebrow and smirked, 'Oh, this might work...'

Back outside, Hikari cursed and used her own chains to keep Choumei from fading away before she looked over Fuu. Needless to say, Suguha stood between them and Tobi, even if the man was on the ground gripping his wound painfully.

The Uzumaki didn't have as much skill as Sakura or Shizune did when it came to medical ninjutsu. But Tsunade had managed to cram some knowledge into the girl's head, and Hikari easily scanned Fuu's body, and the green-haired girl was slipping away. Fast.

The blonde growled and quickly drew a seal on the ground, linking her chain to the seal before she glanced at Suguha, "Suguha-chan, I'm gonna bring Sakura over. Take care of them."

The girl nodded and glanced at Tobi, who was still on the ground, discretely putting first aid over his severed arm. It wasn't enought to fully patch it up, but it was enough to stop the bleeding.

In less than a minute, Hikari returned with Sasuke and Sakura. Immediately, the medic went to work on Fuu, while Sasuke went over to deal with Tobi.

Hikari then heard the Kyuubi, "Hikari, you know Fuu's tenketsu are damaged. The Nanabi was probably extracted with chains from the Gedo Mazo, so it directly went through her tenketsu and forcefully pulled the Nanabi out. Its a miracle the the Nanabi wasn't fully pulled out, and there is some of his chakra in her. That's why she's even alive, if only barely."

The blonde nodded before the Kyuubi continued, "Sealing the Nanabi back into Fuu won't save her, in fact, it will definitely kill her. Her tenketsu can't handle the strain of a Bijuu entering her system, it will cause them to collapse, at best, ending her ninja career, or at worse, killing her instantly."

Hikari asked, frustrated, "Then what do we do?!"

The Kyuubi closed his eyes for a moment, then he answered, "Seal my brother into Suguha."

Hikari's eyes widened, "What?"

The Bijuu nodded, "Yes. I don't trust anyone else here, not that pink bubblegum, and definitely not the Uchiha, even if he _is_ decent. You can't house another bijuu and we don't have time to go back and get the Aburame."

The Uzumaki sighed and nodded, 'Fine.'

She looked up at Choumei's astral form and it was obvious he knew what was going on. Hikari then looked at Fuu, who also knew. The green haired girl nodded weakly as Sakura tried her best to heal her, "I know, do it."

Hikari nodded before looking up a Choumei for permissions, and she received a nod. It was obvious the Kyubi had told his younger sibling, and the Nanabi had accepted it.

The girl looked over at Suguha, "Suguha-chan, come here."

The swordswoman stared at her sister curiously and complied. Hikari sighed, "Right now, Fuu's tenketsu are too damaged. She can't handle the strain of having a Bijuu sealed back into her body, but we can't leave the Nanabi put here, nor can we seal him into a container. That's why, I need you to be his Jinchurikii."

Suguha's eyes widened and she glanced over at Fuu, who nodded weakly. The green haired girl didn't really want to part with her friend, but she got careless, and she couldn't leave Choumei out here due to her own selfishness.

The katana user nodded, "Fine, I'll do it."

Hikari nodded and readied her brush, "Lay down here, I'll do the rest."

Then she got to work.

Meanwhile, with Sasuke and Tobi. The last loyal Uchiha glared at the masked man, "Who are you?"

Tobi chuckled, "I already told you, I am Tobi."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him, "That move, it's just like Kakashi. And that eye, how do you have the Sharingan?"

Tobi seemed to smirk as he said, "Why, I got it the same way you did."

Sasuke glared at him and charged, swinging his chokuto at the man, "ANSWER ME!"

The blade easily phased through the man as if he did not exist. Tobi shook his head mockingly, "Tsk tsk, you're repulsive. So unlike your brother."

Sasuke growled and conjured a Chidori in his hands, thrusting it forward. But the results were the same, as Sasuke merely phased through the man.

The masked man then noticed Hikari drawing seals on Suguha, and then, the Nanabi got sucked into the swords woman. He then looked further and saw that almost all of the White Zetsu clones were defeated. Tobi tch'd and thought, 'Well, whatever... I've done what I came to do.'

Tobi looked at Sasuke, "I suppose it's time for me to leave."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "As if I'll let you, you will tell me where Itachi and the rest of the Akatsuki are."

Tobi chuckled, "You don't have a choice. Tell Kakashi I said hi, and I'm itching to gut him like how he did to her all those years ago."

Then the man swirled away before Sasuke even had a chance to yell Amateratsu. The last loyal Uchiha cursed. Tobi hadn't taken him seriously at all. He couldn't even touch him. Well, at least none of the other Akatsuki members had space time techniques like Tobi did, at least, he hoped so.

Sasuke let out a breath and went back to where Hikari and the others were. By now, Kakashi, team Yugao and team Kurenai had also wiped out all of the White Zetsu clones, and they were all gathered around Fuu.

Sakura wiped the sweat off her forehead and let out a breath. It was miracle Hikari had brought her over when she did. If they had even been a second later, Fuu would have died. But fortunately, it seemed Hikari's seal helped, somewhat, in keeping Fuu alive, long enough for Sakura to fully heal her.

The apprentice of the Fifth Hokage stood up and nodded, "Okay, that should do it."

Fuu weakly got up, and Shino quickly helped her stable herself. The girl nodded in thanks before she looked at Hikari and Suguha, who had both finished their work in sealing the Nanabi into Suguha.

The former Jinchurikii thought, 'Well, I'm gonna miss that over-grown beetle.'

To her surprise, that familiar annoying voice of the Nanabi replied her, "You're not getting rid of me that easily. I'm still here."

Fuu blinked, "I... I can hear Choumei... Hikari, you did seal him into Suguha, right?"

Suguha nodded, she could hear the Nanabi in her seal. With Hikari, the Kyubi spoke, "I can explain that. Make a clone."

The Uzumaki raised and eyebrow and made a clone, the Kyubi quickly taking over and said, "That man, Tobi, he used the chains from the Gedo Mazo. Those chains directly enter a Jinchurikii's body from the tenketsu, and they rip us Bijuu away from the seals forcefully."

The Kyuubi pushed some hair away, frowing as he did, "From what I saw, and understand, the chains were in the process of fully pulling Chomei's chakra out. But since Hikari here interfered, by cutting off his arm."

The Bijuu in the clone pointed to the severed arm on the ground, "Which cut off the chains, it left half of Choumei's chakra hanging. Normally that would be impossible, as we Bijuu exist as a single life form, if you will. But, that bastard, he didn't have the Rinnegan, and he used those chakra receivers to make the chains. So by cutting off the chains, it might have cut off the chakra from the Nanabi. "

Kakashi nodded and looked at the Bijuu, "So, how does this affect the Nanabi? Will those two parts exist as a single being?"

The Kyuubi rubbed his chin, or rather, Hikari's chin, "Hmm, that I'm not sure."

The Bijuu looked at Suguha and Fuu, "You two feel anything different?"

The two girls asked their tenants, and Suguha said, "Well, Choumei said he couldn't feel any link to that Choumei in Fuu. But he still has the essential parts of his chakra, it's like he just used half of his reserves."

Fuu nodded, "Same here."

The Kyuubi grumbled, "Lucky bastards... Well, that clears it up. It seems that there are two of them now. Well, two annoying bugs anyways."

Kurenai then asked, "So, they're stuck like that?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "Yeah. They'll probably regain their lost chakra in time, we Bijuu always regenerate chakra no matter what. Well, that makes things better, since we have a better chance at fighting the Akatsuki now."

Fuu had a small smile on her face, happy that she didn't really lose her friend. Choumei-F chuckled in her mind, "Even if I was totally extracted and sent to Suguha, you won't lose me. We would still be able to talk."

(for simplicity's sake, I'll refer to the Nanabi in Fuu as Choumei-F, and the one in Suguha as Choumei-S)

Fuu nodded, 'I know. But you've been with me for so long, it will be different for me if I don't have your annoying voice in my head.'

Choumei-F just laughed.

Outside, Jiraiya said, "Let's get going. We don't know if there are any other Akatsuki members out here."

The Sannin then got an idea and looked at his god-daughter, "Hikari, can you modify your Hiraishin seals so we can travel as a whole group?"

The Uzumaki blinked several times before she face-palmed, "Oh my gods... I could've just done that in the beginning!"

Everyone blinked in confusion as Hikari took out a Hiraishin kunai and unrolled its seal formula. Then she started drawing several more seals on it for a whole minute before she replaced the seal on the kunai.

The last Namikaze nodded in satisfaction before she picked it up and said, "Wait a sec, I'll be right back."

She dropped another Hiraishin kunai onto the ground and vanished in a yellow flash.

The others just blinked several times. Kiba asked, "What just happened?"

Shino pushed his glasses up, "It seems Hikari forgot she could use the Hiraishin to transport all of us back to the village, and most probably, vice versa."

Asuna, Suguha and Sinon all smiled, knowing that even if their sister was strong, she still had a knack for forgetting stuff like that. But no one minded to be honest.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head, a motion mirrored by most of the Jounin present as they knew full well how the Uzumaki acted.

In less than five minutes, the blonde reappeared at their location. Hikari smiled, easily noting how close Shino and Fuu were standing, before she looked at the others, "Okay, you guys ready?"

Everyone nodded and Hikari said, "Okay, everyone, grab onto each other and make it so all of us are linked."

No one objected, and in a bright flash of yellow, the whole group vanished, blissfully unaware of the shadow that sank into the ground some distance away from them.

A while later, back in Konoha, the three teams, one Sannin and one former Taki kunoichi, had given their report to Tsunade.

The Hokage sighed and leaned back into her seat, "So, let me get this straight, you were all attacked by the Akatsuki, along with some sort of white humanoid creatures. Fuu here, almost had her Bijuu extracted, but Hikari managed to stop them. Am I right so far?"

Everyone nodded and she continued, "So as a result, half of the Nanabi was left outside, and Fuu's tenketsu couldn't take the strain of taking in that much chakra, or she would die. So under the Kyuubi's advice, Hikari sealed that half of the Nanabi into Suguha. Yes?"

Everyone nodded, and Fuu felt a bit nervous as Tsunade rubbed her temples, obviously stressed out by the situation. The green haired girl subconsciously moved closer to Shino as she glanced around, Hikari and Jiraiya were indifferent, obviously used to this. Shino and Sasuke looked calm while Sakura was a bit nervous but didn't act. As for Asuna, Sinon and Suguha, they were trying to keep calm, but Fuu could see that they were a bit nervous.

Moving on, Kiba was scared shitless, Hinata looked really nervous, while the three Jounin were praying that they won't lose their jobs.

After a few moments, Tsunade let out a breath, "At least no one died this time, and Fuu is still a Jinchurikii."

Everyone visibly relaxed as all traces of the Hokage blowing up vanished. The last Senju was thankful to god things weren't as bad as with the Niibi. Especially since Taki wasn't as strict with the Nanabi as Kumo with the Niibi.

As far as she knew, as far as most of the people of Taki were concerned, they'd give the Bijuu in Fuu to the Akatsuki just to get rid of the girl even it meant a group of terrorists taking over the world, just to save their skin, even if they were starting to accept the girl.

Tsunade brought out a bottle of sake and said, "You're all dismissed. Fuu, seeing as you carry the Nanabi, and seeing how you seem... attached to our heir of the Aburame clan, you'll be staying with them, is that okay, Shino?"

Only then did everyone realise how close Fuu was standing to Shino, and the girl blushed slightly as she quickly moved away from the young heir, an unnoticeable blush under hid cloak. Shino nodded, "That's fine, if Fuu wants that."

The green haired girl nodded shyly as she heard Hikari snicker slightly. She knew it wasn't like her to act like this. The girl had always pushed people away, and she always put on a strong face when in front of people. But meeting Shino, she felt like she could act like a girl. Even when with Hikari, someone she saw as a sister, Fuu would have her mask up, if only slightly.

Tsunade sighed and nodded, "Good, I'll inform your father. For now, you're all dismissed. Shino, I trust you can show Fuu around the village?"

The Aburame raised an eyebrow, "Me? Wouldn't Hikari be better?"

Tsunade chuckled as she glanced at Fuu, "No, I think you'll be just fine."

The man just nodded as everyone had a sly smile on their faces, knowing what Tsunade was doing. After that, they all left the office, leaving Tsunade to her own on her paperwork.

Meanwhile, in one of Tobi's hidden safe houses, the man growled as he took off his mask and placed it on the table as he sat down, revealing a man with black hair, the right side of his face scarred in a pattern not unlike his mask. More importantly, there was a Sharingan in his right eye, while he kept his left eye shut.

As he poured himself a glass of water, Zetsu appeared from the ground. The plant asked, "So, what do you want to do now?"

Tobi sighed and considered his options. The test for the White Zetsu clones had gone well, hell, it was a great success. None of the Konoha ninja felt the presences of the battalion, and considering who they were, being able to put pressure on them, even if it was only a moment, spoke volumes of the clones' capabilities.

Then came the Nanabi extraction. True, it wasn't important at that time, not too important anyways. But Tobi had got ahead of himself, and he had lost his arm as a result. Well, at the same time it also proved he could use the chains without the Rinnegan, not as effective with the Rinnegan, but still combat ready. That was another important thing.

So while he had lost an arm, and the Nanabi had been sealed into Suguha, he hadn't exactly lost a lot. In fact, he had gained some valuable information, which will prove helpful for the future.

Now it was time for the next step. Tobi looked at Zetsu, "Inform Pein that the Nanabi is with Konoha now. The remaining Bijuu, apart from the Hachibi, are all in Konohagakure. Tell him to prepare as soon as his paths have rested up. It's time to launch a full scale attack on Konoha."

XXX

Done. So that's the end of the Nanabi arc. Just a note, as in canon, Jinchurikii die once their Bijuu are extracted. Here, Fuu didn't have Choumei extracted. Its more like this, imagine a gate, a starfish is passing through that gate. But as it passes, with half the body through the gate, the gate slams shut. And it gets cut in half one part inside the gates, the other outside the gates. Then, the two parts of the starfish regenerate to form two new starfish.

That's what happened. So, Fuu technically didn't get the Nanabi taken out, so she survived barely, long enough for Sakura to heal her. Its also not like the Kyubi, as Minato purposely separated the Yin and Yang parts.

Here, Choumei just literally got split into half. So he retains both Yin and Yang parts, and his consciousness as well, but he will temporarily have half of his full powers.

So yeah, the next arc will be the Pein arc. After that, the Aincrad arc.

Review please.


	43. Chapter 43

Hey guys, this is the 43rd chapter.

To **BlackCyrstal06** , thank you for your reviews. You're right, those are Eugeo, Alice and Selka. And well, I wanted to have Asuna, Sinon and Suguha to eventually be on the same footing as Hikari, along with Kirito as well. But let's just say that Kirito still has some time before he reaches their level.

To **Brin,** thanks, I liked your suggestion and it clicked with what I was thinking. And hmm, I never actually thought of that, I was actually planning for the splitting of the Nanabi to be only because of the Chains from the Gedo Mazo being cut off from Tobi's mask before he could complete the ritual, so I'll just leave at how Tobi still doesn't know that the Bijuu can be split. In fact, here, now, Tobi doesn't even know that there are two Nanabi Jinchurikii. He assumes that the Nanabi is sealed into Suguha, that's it.

But then again, that could also be said for splitting the Yin and Yang halves in canon.

To be honest though, I'm still thinking on whether both Choumei's will get back their full chakra or not, since now they have their full components of their chakra, yin and yang, but they are just equally split apart. And I based this off the starfish regeneration trait, so I'm still considering about that.

Anyways, I suppose I could let you guys decide. Whether I should have both Choumei's regain their full strength, or have Fuu and Suguha eventually work together to form one big Choumei.

XXX

Two days later, in a training ground, Kirito, Kakashi and Sasuke were training. They had just finished sparring and were resting.

As they talked, Sasuke remembered Tobi's parting words. Earlier, it hadn't come up, so Sasuke forgot about it. But now they were training, Sasuke finally remembered, and he asked, "Kakashi, there's something I wanna ask you."

The cyclops raised his eyebrow, "Hmm? What's up?"

The last loyal Uchiha stared at his teacher, "That masked man, Tobi. He seemed to know you."

This got his attention, along with Kirito, and Kakashi hmm'd, "Really?"

Sasuke nodded, "He could do something similar to your Kamui, but on himself. And he told me, he looks forward to gutting you like you did her all those years ago."

Kakashi's eye widened, 'What? A similar technique to the Kamui, and those words... Obito?'

The Copy ninja's mind raced through all the times he had gutted someone, whether with a kunai, Chidori or Raikiri. Plus a similar ability to the Kamui... The first thing that came to mind was a dead friend, Obito's body was never found after that incident. That meant that he could very well be alive. Plus, there were next to no Uchiha outside the village, ignoring Itachi, and every ability the Mangekyou granted was unique to each pair of eyes. If you factored in the fact that the man had a mask with a single eye piece, which coincidentally was the right eye, along with the ability similar to the Kamui, and the fact that he hated/knew Kakashi, then it pointed towards Obito.

Then Kakashi's eyes widened, if Obito really was alive, and he had killed Rin, along with the fact that they never managed to help him. It wouldn't be strange for him to hate Kakashi.

Kakashi shook his head, 'No, Obito can't be alive. He died that day...'

He was broken out of his musings by Kirito's voice, "Kakashi? You okay?"

The cyclops blinked and nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."

He looked at Sasuke, "I'm not sure who he is at this point, but I will find out."

Sasuke nodded, "Good."

It was unspoken, but the three men knew, Tobi was after the Jinchurikii. Yes, now there were four Jinchurikii in a relationship with Kirito, but among the three men, all of them had a close relationship with Hikari.

Kakashi was her teacher and her father's student. Sasuke used to like her, but now saw her as a comrade and potentially a sister now. Kirito, obviously, was her boyfriend and family. No words were needed as the three men knew they would need to work hard to protect them.

(On a side note, I just realized, now apart from Killer Bee, all of the Jinchurikii are all female... Hmmm)

At that moment, Kirito felt his mark pulse again, as if reacting to his emotions. But it vanished as soon as it came, so Kirito payed it no heed.

Meanwhile, in another training ground, more specifically the Namikaze training ground, the five Jinchurikii were training. Asuna, Sinon and Hikari were training on their own, whilst Suguha and Fuu were training together.

The main reason was that they wanted to explore what they had. Hikari, Sinon and Asuna all had different bijuu, henced they trained on their own. But Suguha and Fuu essentially had the same Bijuu, so they could train together. Another reason was due to the slow regeneration of the two Nanabi's chakra.

The Kyuubi had said that eventually both Choumei's would regain their full power of all seven tails. But the situation was new, and no one really knew how long it would take, or if the two parts of Choumei would even regenerate to form two fully powered seven-tailed Bijuu.

However, they didn't let that deter them. Hence, Fuu and Suguha were training together, discovering any changes or additions to their skills.

Like Fuu, Suguha had increased compatibility with wind jutsu now, along with enhanced senses all Jinchurikii received. But unlike Fuu, the swordswoman didn't develop a connection with bugs, instead with the nature in general.

Choumei-S had theorised that it may had something to do with her sage mode and connection with the eagles. But no one really knew, since Asuna, Sinon and Hikari all had their own sage modes, (Hikari was still working on hers, but it still counted as one), but they didn't really have any changes.

The Kyubi had suggested that it may had something to do with Choumei himself. The Nanabi had always been attuned to nature, even compared to every other Bijuu. Fuu had never had any way of connecting herself with the environment apart from Choumei, so that was probably why she had a connection to bugs specifically.

But Suguha, she already had sage mode before Choumei-S was sealed in her, albeit through eagles. Choumei-S' enhancement, may have just added to Suguha's existing link to nature.

Another difference was that Suguha couldn't use scale powder like Fuu. According to both Choumei's, Fuu already had him sealed in her from birth. That allowed his influence to alter the girl slightly to produce scale powder. But Suguha, on the other hand, was a grown woman. That meant he couldn't do much other than enhance her existing traits.

That was another reason why the two were sparring, apart from trying to get stronger.

Moving on, at another part of the training ground, Sinon was in Matatabi's full Bijuu form, sitting still on the ground. The girl was trying to push her limits in maintaining the bijuu mode for as long as she could. According to Matatabi, the current limit was an hour, which would change according to her state of health and stamina. Hence, the two partners agreed that they needed to extend the time they could stay in that mode.

Frankly, Sinon didn't really need to train more. All she needed was to do basic training, gradually increase every aspect she had. Her skill at archery was almost second to none, and all she lacked was her physical capabilities.

Her skill with Matatabi's blue fire was also improving. The time she needed to make them was decreasing, and the amount she could manifest the flames were increasing.

Now, Sinon, inside the Bijuu, started to sweat. It had been an hour, and she was starting to feel the strain on her body. But she pushed through, and after a good ten minutes, the girl started to shrink to her normal size as the blue flames that made Matatabi's body disappeared.

As the archer panted on the ground, she heard Matatabi's voice, "Good job. That was ten minutes more than your limit. Take a five minute break, and we'll continue."

The girl nodded as she unsealed a bottle of water.

At the same time, with Asuna, the girl was training with her Hyoton jutsu. Originally, the girl had wanted to train in using Isobu's power, like how her sisters were doing. But the Sanbi was having none of it. According to the turtle, before she started relying on his powers, she needed to understand hers.

That was why he had been pushing her to the limits in her bloodline. Asuna's heritage as a Yuki had laid dormant for some reason, possibly because it didn't have a reason to activate, along with her diluted Yuki blood. But once Isobu was done, her natural proficiency was the same as any Yuki.

Now, Asuna was focusing on making an ice sculpture by manipulating ice. Isobu, having been sealed in Yagura, had access to the late Yondaime Mizukage's memories, which included how the Yuki clan trained in their bloodline, and a good number of Hyotob jutsu.

The Sanbi had wasted no time in having Asuna train in that. And he was satisfied with the pace she was going. Another reason he had pushed the girl to master her bloodline, was because it would help her in using his powers. For someone who had a Bijuu in her for less than a year, her control was astounding. In fact, Suguha and Sinon were the same.

Normally, Jinchurikii needed years to even utilise the Bijuu chakra in their body. It had been the same for every Jinchurikii he knew. But Asuna, Sinon and Suguha, they had them for less than six months, and they could control the full bijuu modes for at least ten minutes, or at least, Asuna and Sinon could, since Choumei-S and Choumei-F were not at full power.

Granted, Matatabi and Isobu had only three tails of chakra at most. And Choumei-S and Choumei-F currently had only 3.5 tails of chakra, which fortunately could form a three tailed chakra cloak and a three tailed version two cloak for both Suguha and Fuu.

Anyways, back to the topic. Isobu's abilities all heavily revolved around water. Asuna herself was already rather familiar with water jutsu, and she had orca as her summons, which had a sage mode that also used water as the element. Not to mention her bloodline for the Hyoton. By improving her own proficiency at using water based jutsu, it will eventually improve her abilities with Isobu's powers.

The turtle closed his eyes as he felt Asuna finish another sculpture, this one a statue of Sinon with her bow. The bijuu let a small grin appear on his face, the girl had a very good memory, at least when it came to her family. That was a good trait, and he appreciated that in his host. The turtle's thoughts then wandered off as Asuna continued training.

To Hikari, the girl was meditating, focusing on drawing the Kyubi's chakra. The Uzumaki had decided to put senjutsu training on hold, for now at least. While not as good as her sisters, Hikari could hold her sage mode for about twenty minutes before she was forced to drop it.

Normally she would have tried to improve that first. But compared to the sage mode, the Kyubi's full nine tailed bijuu mode was far stronger, and Hikari had worked for a very very long time, yet she had no progress.

Truth to be told, the Kyubi had been holding out on her, and he was very impressed with her. Unlike his younger siblings, the Kyubi's chakra was too great, even if he only had the Yang part of his chakra, and even then, she had managed to draw out eight tails worth of chakra from him, and she could hold it for quite some time.

Anyways, since all nine tails were too strong, the Kyuubi had urged Hikari to get stronger, all the while holding back the chakra. If he was to be honest, Hikari was already capable of drawing all nine tails but her body would not be able to handle, he was just preventing it.

The reason, his chakra was too great, and if she had used all of them, she could have exploded from the chakra. Plus, the Kyubi was rather stingy with his chakra, especially since after Ginkaku and Kinkaku ate his flesh and gained his chakra. But now, he believed she was ready, all she needed was to prove herself.

(Note, in canon, Kurama alone could match six bijuu in a Bijuudama fight. That, in my opinion, is a shit load of power. And before anyone argues that Hikari is already strong enough, let me clear this up. Hikari is strong in a fight, but not too strong in a physical sense.

Here, Hikari has access to a relatively large arsenal of jutsu and fuinjutsu. Yes, her taijutsu is also excellent. But that does not warrant a body strong enough to withstand all nine tails. Unlike canon Naruto, who most focused on the Rasengan and taijutsu, as well as having his body trained to withstand senjutsu, which, Hikari has not, at least not to his standards yet.

So in case anyone was wondering, Hikari is physically weaker than Naruto, at least when he had the initial yellow Kyubi chakra mode. Hence Hikari would be unable to control his full power, that is the case several chapters before. But in a fight, Hikari would definitely win, since she is smarter and has a larger arsenal of jutsu.)

Now, the Kyubi thought as he watched his host trying to draw on all nine tails, 'I suppose she is ready.'

He ignored the smirk and smile he could feel from deeper inside the seal. The Kyubi then called, "Hikari, come in to the seal."

The girl was confused as her friend suddenly interrupted her from focusing. The last Namikaze nodded and closed her eyes again, before she opened them to see the Kyubi in the mindscape he shaped.

Hikari asked, "Kyubi? What's wrong?"

The Kyubi stared down at her, "Hikari, its time we had a spar."

The girl blinked. She blinked again, and again, "What?"

The Kyubi chuckled, "Its time to see if you can handle my full nine tails of chakra. Spar with me, I will determine if you can handle my full powers."

Hikari frowned, "How will you even know?"

The Kyubi nodded, "Yes, you are practically God here. But I can sense it, fight me, and if you are ready, then you are ready."

Hikari nodded and her eyes widened as she immediately jumped away just in time to dodge the Kyubi's hand slamming onto the ground.

The girl's first reaction was to yell at the Bijuu for suddenly attacking, but one look at his eyes told her everything. The Kyubi wanted her to come at him with everything, with the intent to kill. To prove that he had not been wrong in trusting her. To prove that she was worthy.

Hikari wasn't staring at a lazy fox with power, not the one she knew. No, she was facing the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the eldest and strongest amongst all nine Bijuu.

The Uzumaki's eyes hardened as she summoned three hundred clones. Then they charged.

The Kyubi just smirked as he took the wave of Rasengan and chains from the clones. The first two hundred clones were nothing, just normal Rasengan and chain attacks. But last hundred, that surprised him, if only slightly.

The last hundred clones all held an Odama Rasengan each, with Hikari, along with two other clones, holding one Rasenshuriken.

That alone was a very dangerous combination, but the Kyubi wasn't going to just hand the fight to the girl, even if she had more than earned his respect. No, she would have to fight for it. As the attacks almost reached him, the Kyubi roared.

A simple roar. That one roar caused a shock wave and easily dispelled the clones, and blew Hikari off balanced, undoing the Rasenshuriken. But the Kyubi wasn't done, and before Hikari could react, a tail slammed into her, sending her flying towards the ground.

Hikari groaned as she got up, and the Kyubi said, "Is that all?"

The Uzumaki wiped the dust off her cheek and focused. She hadn't really trained that much in senjutsu, but she didn't really have any other choice. What she needed now wasn't strategy, it was pure power.

In an instant, nature chakra filled her body, or at least, the physical manifestation in her mind. Her pupils turned into slits, not unlike a reptile. Her blonde hair, except the red ends, turned into light brown. The whisker marks on her cheeks also deepened, similar to how it did when she used the Kyubi's chakra.

The Kyubi smirked in anticipation as Hikari threw six Hiraishin kunai at him. But the bijuu was surprised again, as instead of Hikari appearing by one of the kunai, six clones had appeared, one at each kunai, with the original standing there.

Hikari then slammed her palms onto the ground, creating a dozen chains that wrapped around the Kyubi. The Kyubi growled as he pulled against the chains. He narrowed his eyes as he noticed the clones holding a Chou Odama Rasengan each, ready to pulverise him.

But the Kyubi hadn't lived for centuries sleeping. He roared, which dispelled the clones in the process, and managed to conjure up a sphere of chakra and bit into it, before he sent a blast of chakra at the original.

The girl didn't even have time as the blast slammed into her. And for a brief second, the Kyubi thought it was over, and felt slightly disappointed. But the changed, as he saw a single kunai shooting out of the blast at him, and his eyes widened as Hikari appeared before him with a Chou Odama Rasengan in her hand.

The Kyubi gritted his teeth as the Rasengan slammed into him, the explosion pushing him back some distance. But Hikari wasn't done, not by a long shot.

As the bijuu regained his bearings, he looked up to see a Rasenshuriken in his face, and he was sent to the ground, skidding across the dirt as the chains held him down, along with the explosion.

Hikari landed on the ground and stared at the fox as he got up, "Had enough?"

The Bijuu growled to himself. He hadn't expected Hikari to receive such a large boost just from using sage mode. But he wanted to test one more thing.

The Kyubi gathered his tails around his face, and started to gather chakra, forming a huge black purple sphere. Hikari's eyes widened before she quickly made a hundred clones, all ready to charge in with a Chou Odama Rasengan barrage again while she prepared to make a Rasenshuriken.

But before the two could move, a man's voice rang through the area, "That's enough, don't you think, Kyubi?"

The bijuu tsk'd and dispelled the Bijuudama, sitting on the ground as two people, a man and a woman, appeared in front of her. Two people she recognised from the pictures at home. Two people she thought she would never meet at all.

The bijuu grumbled, but it was obvious from the smile that he wasn't angry, "Ruin my fun..."

The man chuckled at the bijuu. He had spiky blonde hair and azure eyes. He also wore the standard Konoha Jounin uniform with a white short sleeved haori with flames at the bottom, the words 'Yondaime Hokage' etched on the back.

The woman had long red hair that reached her waist. She also wore a white blouse and a long green loose fitting dress.

Hikari said, shocked that her parents were in front her, "O-otou-san... Okaa-san?"

Minato smiled kindly, "Hikari, my daughter, you've grown into a wonderful young woman."

Kushina nodded in agreement with a smile, "Yes."

Hikari stuttered, still not believing what she was seeing, "H-how?"

Minato chuckled and glanced at the Kyubi a bit before he turned to his daughter, "It was last minute thing. When I sealed the furball into you, well, we thought since we couldn't watch you grow up, we'd have a bit of our chakra here."

Kushina nodded before the blonde girl launched herself at her parents, embracing them tightly. The girl said, "I never thought I'd meet you two like this."

Kushina smiled, "Fuinjutsu can do anything, ya know?"

Hikari pulled away and grinned, "Yeah."

Minato glanced at his daughter with an amused smile, "But never in my life, would I have expected my daughter to be in a harem, of all things."

Hikari blushed deeply, "Erm..."

Kushina giggled, "Its okay, we've seen what you went through, throughout your life, and we respect your decision. Besides, he's not a bad catch, better than how your father was at your age at the very least."

Minato sighed and looked at his wife, "Hey, you were like a tomboy back then, can't blame me for being shy, even if you are beautiful."

Hikari tilted her head in confusion, "What happened?"

Kushina smiled and they talked about how Minato saved Kushina from the Kumo ninja, how Minato complimented her hair. And how Kushina had to kiss him forcefully to let him know she loved him.

The three, along with the Kyubi, had also talked about how the Bijuu had been passed down from Mito to Kushina, and now Hikari. The bijuu had grumbled about Hikari being better than Kushina and Mito, earning some laughs from the family of seal masters.

They also talked about Tobi, and why Minato had sealed the Yang half of the Kyubi into Hikari.

Minato and Kushina had also talked to Hikari about her family. The two were happy their daughter had met her three sisters in all but blood, and they approved of her relationship with Kirito, even if it was a bit unorthodox.

After an hour of catching up, Hikari's parents started to fade away. Minato smiled, "I suppose our time is up."

Hikari nodded and smiled, she was happy she could meet her parents. Even if they were essentially shadow clones in chakra form.

Kushina smiled at her daughter, "Live a good life, Hikari. I don't think I need to tell you to eat well, to sleep well."

Minato nodded before he added, "And use protection, I don't want any grandchildren yet."

Hikari blushed and glared at her father, "Otou-san!"

Minato laughed and he looked at her daughter, "Tell Kirito we approve of him, and tell him to not worry about his origins. If Akihiko-san's plans succeed, everything will reveal itself."

Kushina nodded and smiled at her daughter one final time before they vanished back to the afterlife, bringing the memories of meeting their grown up daughter to the souls among the dead.

Hikari smiled, tears in her eyes that did not drop, "Goodbye, Otou-san, Okaa-san."

The girl turned to the Kyubi and the bijuu nodded to his host, "They were good people. We never were on good terms, but they have my respect."

Hikari smiled, "Thank you, Kyubi."

The bijuu nodded before he said, "Kurama."

Hikari blinked, "Eh?"

Kurama grinned at her, "My name is Kurama. You've more than earned my respect, Uzumaki, no, Namikaze Hikari."

The girl smiled at her friend, "Thank you, Kurama."

The Bijuu nodded before he said, "You proved yourself, so I'm sure you can use my full nine tails. Try it."

The blonde nodded and exited the mindscape, opening her eyes to see the other four Jinchurikii staring at her in worry.

Hikari blinked, "Erm... Is something wrong?"

The four visible sighed in relief. Suguha said, "Hikaru-chan, you sat there for two hours."

Asuna asked worriedly, "What happened?"

Hikari smiled, "Kurama wanted to spar. Speaking of which, I wanna try something. Stay here."

The four girls were slightly confused as Hikari vanished in a yellow flash, appearing some distance away from them.

The blonde thought, 'Let's go, Kurama.'

The bijuu smirked, "Ready when you are."

The girl nodded reached down to Kurama's chakra. Then she pulled.

In an instant, gone was the cute blonde girl. In her place, was a large nine tailed fox. The Kyubi roared as he laughed, "FINALLY!"

Kurama looked down at the four other Jinchurikii, surprised faces on their faces. The bijuu said to Hikari, "Well, I suppose a small spar is in order? To see how far you can go."

Hikari nodded in the bijuu and she looked at her sisters, "Sinon-chan, Asuna-chan?"

The two grinned at each other and ran towards Kurama, transforming into their Bijuu modes.

As the three charged, Suguha asked Fuu, "Hey, do you think we can do that?"

Fuu laughed slightly, "I've already done that once. But who knows, maybe once Choumei's regained all his chakra, maybe we could do that."

Suguha just nodded as she looked at her three sisters fight in what was essentially a kaijuu battle.

As Matatabi and Isobu charged, Kurama grinned as he raised his arms to block a combined punch (?) from the two bijuu. He then spun and slammed his tails into the two, sending them flying across the rather spacious training grounds.

Kurama grinned before he remembered something and asked, "Hey Hikari, I have another mode, something only I can do with a Jinchurikii, wanna try it?"

Hikari blinked and nodded, "Sure."

Kurama smirked and his body turned into a transparent yellow version of himself, with several lines extending down his body. Hikari also found herself in Kurama's head, around where his brain should be.

The girl blinked in awe as she was also in a similar form. She wore a haori, not unlike her father's Hokage haori, and there were seal lines around her body. Hikari also noticed she was shrouded in the same kind of chakra.

The blonde said in awe, "What is this?"

Kurama smirked, "This is a mode that only I can use with a Jinchurikii. Mito and Kushina never got to use it since they never sought to master my chakra."

That was only half the truth. Kurama had reached down and pulled on Ashura's chakra that laid dormant in Hikari's reserves, hence it gave them a more versatile version of the full bijuu mode. But then, Hikari didn't need to know that.

(To be honest, while I liked the yellow chakra mode, I don't like why there wasn't an explanation to why Naruto had a special mode. So here, I'll have it because of Ashura's chakra.)

Matatabi and Isobi both groaned/growled as they got up and they were surprised to see their eldest brother in that form.

The two bijuu shook out of their surprise as Kurama leaped at them. The nine tailed fox swung his fist at Isobu before he swung his tails at Matatabi. The turtle growled as he swung his tails at the Kyubi, while Matatabi grabbed onto his tails.

Kurama just smirked as he flailed wildly, sending his two younger siblings away as he thought, 'Hikari, let's try some of your jutsu. In the normal Bijuu form, we are only limited to our normal techniques, but this is an equal combination of your powers and mine. Try it.'

Hikari grinned and tried to summon her chains through the Kyubi's chakra body, and she was pleased to see the chains shooting out of Kurama's chest, striking both Isobu and Matatabi.

Hikari then got an idea, and Kurama smirked in approval as he felt what she was thinking. In unison, the two raised their right arm, and to the shock of the two other Bijuu, a Rasenshuriken formed.

Kurama and Hikari threw the enormous jutsu, and the two bijuu knew no more.

A while later, Asuna and Sinon groaned as they sat up. The two noticed Hikari, Suguha and Fuu sitting nearby in the training ground.

Hikari quickly went to them and asked, "You girls okay?"

Asuna nodded as she rubbed her temples, "Remind me to never spar with you in Bijuu mode."

Sinon nodded in agreement as she rubbed her eyes. Hikari just laughed as Suguha asked, "So, you girls hungry?"

The loud grumble from the girls' stomachs was the only answer they needed before they headed out.

Meanwhile, in the Akatsuki's hideout. Pein looked over the village again. Zetsu had given him his report, and had stated that Madara had suggested a full invasion for the Bijuu.

Nagato didn't really care for the village anyways. But he supposed it was time to get all the Bijuu. His paths were all combat ready, even if Itachi and Kisame weren't exactly ready, and he didn't want Konan to join the fight this time. His six paths were enough.

Nagato sighed as he spoke through Yahiko's body, "Zetsu, start scouting out Konoha's defences. I'm attacking in three days."

The plant smirked/grinned, "As you wish."

With that said, Zetsu sank into the ground. Nagato sighed as the spy left, 'Uzumaki Hikari. Its time to see if you are worthy. Prove to me that you carry our clan's legacy.'

XXX

Done. So that's the 43rd chapter. The next few chapters will be the Pein arc. So yeah, until then, review please.


	44. Chapter 44

HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS!!! Hope you guys get a new resolution that actually works hehe hehe.

So yeah, it just came up when I was thinking, since I used the fact that Kurama triggered Hikari's dormant Ashura chakra to access to yellow version of the Kyubi chakra mode, which is the second yellow version, the one where Naruto uses to fight the six other Bijuu. The one with the Bijuudama clash.

So, in case anyone was wondering, yes, Sasuke is still the reincarnation of Indra here. But Indra's chakra is still dormant. Now, from what I understand, the rivalry between the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra always start out through being friends.

Hashirama and Madara became friends through skipping stones, and Naruto and Sasuke were somewhat friends/rivals in part 1.

In this story, Sasuke started out respecting Hikari for being one of the top Kunoichi in the academy, which eventually turned in obsession after witnessing her relationship with Kirito.

Then at the Valley of the End, unlike canon, where Naruto could've defeated Sasuke but failed to do so, Hikari did beat up Sasuke before she went on the 1 year trip.

So Sasuke here did not fall under the curse of hatred like in canon. Hence, the influence of Indra's chakra isn't as bad, and their animosity isn't as bad too. So until, or if we reach the part where Hagoromo activates and gives Hikari and Sasuke his chakra, Indra's chakra will most probably lay dormant.

As for Hikari, Ashura's chakra is only awakened because Kurama triggered it. The only way she can even access it, is by using the yellow Kyubi chakra mode, like in canon.

To **Brin,** thanks for your review, now I'm not exactly sure which yellow mode you're talking about, since technically there are a few. For Naruto, there are around three iirc, the first one is the one Naruto got by beating Kurama with Kushina's help. That one is the one without the full sized bijuu mode.

The second one is the one where Naruto and Kurama accept each other and are able to use the full size bijuu mode. This one is the one with the haori.

The third one is the one with the Truth Seeking balls, which is the one gained from Hagoromo.

The one Hikari is using is the second one. Because in the manga or the anime as far as I remember, they never really explained why Naruto had a different bijuu mode. Killer B had mastered the bijuu mode, but was still using the same versions when Naruto go berserk. So here, I'm having Hikari be able to use the nornal versions, but to use Naruto's yellow versions, she'd need to access Ashura's chakra. NOTE, Hikari **CANNOT** use the Sage of Six Paths mode yet, and she also cannot use Tailed Beast Sage mode YET.

So yeah, I just wanted to clear that up. Oh, and the others might be able to use Tailed Beast Sage mode, just not so soon.

XXX

In Konoha, a few days later, everything seemed peaceful. In fact, most of the villagers were going on with their life as usual, unaware of the six men in Akatsuki robes stalking towards the village. Well, ignorance is a bliss, as they say.

In the forests surrounding the village, the six paths stared at the invisible detection barrier that spanned over the village. Contrary to what most thought, Konohagakure wasn't exactly as welcoming as most thought.

When everyone approached the village, they'd pass through a barrier, which immediately told the ninja on border duty who came in, and who went out. That was one of the reasons why Tsunade knew when Kirito went out without permission. It was also how they distinguished civilians and ninja that entered the village.

Nagato thought as he looked through Yahiko's eyes, 'So... That's the barrier Konoha has... Well, Itachi knew the entry code, so he slipped in easily. I suppose I can do things my way.'

With a single command, Shurado (Asura path) grabbed onto Chikushodo (Animal Path), and with a grunt, he sent the path flying straight into the air.

As the female path entered the barrier, the guards were instantly alerted of the intruder and they all scrambled to inform the other ninja. But as most of the cannon fodder were, they weren't effectient enough.

As Chikushodo landed, she quickly weaved through a set of seals, easily summoning the other five paths. On an unseen signal, the six of them spread out.

Without wasting any time, Shurado started transforming his body into a massive missile launcher, and he spared no time and ammo as he fired everything he had. The results, several buildings reduced to rubble.

With Chikushodo, she weaved through another set of seals, and in an instant, a massive centipede and three headed dog appeared, wreaking havoc as it trashed around, destroying the buildings.

As for Gakido, he just stood in the opening as the other two paths drew attention. Well, his clothes alone screamed enemy to the Konoha ninja, and in no time, he had several Konoha ninja surrounding him. The path smirked as they all fired ninjutsu of all elements at him.

But it was useless, as he easily absorbed the chakra from them. Then, Gakido went through several handseals and he charged.

Stopping in front of an unfortunate Jounin, the path grabbed him by the neck, and started absorbing his chakra. In less than two minutes, the man had no chakra left and died of chakra exhaustion.

This made everyone wary of him and they kept their distance as the Konoha shinobi all readied themselves.

Gakido smirked, he didn't really need to kill them. Well, killing some wouldn't matter to be honest, but his real motive was to provide diversion for the other paths, and standing there with an intimidating stature was a very good way of doing it.

Meanwhile, Ningendo and Jigokudo were somewhere in the village respectively, interrogating a random Jounin each.

With Ningendo, he was holding onto the ninja's head, scanning his mind. The path hmm'd, "Apart from what I already know, nothing much."

The path turned around and saw a man he easily recognised. Ningendo said, "Jiraiya-sensei."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at the path, "Nagato... No, I guess you go by Pein now."

Ningendo nodded, "I'm here for the rest of the Bijuu. To be honest, I'm impressed. You took the Niibi, Sanbi and the Nanabi while I was busy."

Jiraiya smirked, "Not so bad yourself, the Ichibi, Yonbi, Gobi and Rokubi."

The path let a small smirk appear on his face. Jiraiya then said, "Its been a while, let's see how good you are."

Without another word, the two charged each other. Jiraiya swung his fist at the path, and Ningendo easily blocked the punch before he sent his own.

Jiraiya ducked and dodged the punch as he kicked Ningendo away. The sage frowned, if he remembered correctly, the Rinnegan had a special ability in granting corpses one ability of the doujutsu.

Jiraiya also knew several things about the Rinnegan, mainly what it did. From what he had gathered, the Rinnegan could control gravity, life and death, summon animals, recreate technology as the user's pleased and several others.

What he saw just now, Ningendo Pein had seemingly scanned the Jounin's mind before drawing out his soul, killing him. That meant Nagato could kill him at any moment. On the bright side, at least he needed physical contact, from what he saw anyways.

The path looked at his teacher, "Jiraiya-sensei, I will only say this once, seeing as you are my teacher, give me the Bijuu, and I will spare thr village. I don't want any more casualties."

Jiraiya chuckled as he took his stance, "You know, a few years ago, I might have done that. But, Hikari is my god-daughter. Student or not, I won't just give you my last living family, even if it's for peace."

Pein frowned as Jiraiya continued, "Besides, if Hikari and her friends ever taught me anything, its that family comes first, and the Bijuu aren't weapons. I'm done trading lives."

Ningendo let out a breath, "So be it."

Without another word, Jiraiya and Ningendo charged.

Meanwhile, with Jigokudo, he had just finished interrogating a random Jounin. Jigokudo huffed and let the man drop to the ground. It was the same for everyone, they only knew general information, nothing Zetsu hadn't told him.

The path was about to move on to the next person he found, when he turned and saw a silver haired man staring at him. The path spoke, "Hatake Kakashi, I suppose its an honor to meet you."

Kakashi wasn't amused, "So, you have half of your team distract everyone, while you go around interrogating people."

Jigokudo smiled humourlessly, "All I want are the Bijuu. Give them to me, and I will leave, peacefully."

Kakashi narrowed his eye and pulled up his headband, revealing his Sharingan, "I don't think so. Not when you've already caused so much damage."

The path nodded, "I suppose so."

Kakashi didn't need another word and charged forward. The silver haired man tried to punch the Rinnegan user, but Jigokudo easily blocked the man before he kicked the Copy Ninja away.

Kakashi grunted as he steadied himself, preventing himself from falling. Jigokudo smirked before he said, "I'd like to play a little longer, but as I said, I'm here to get the Bijuu."

Without another word, the path jumped away. Kakashi cursed and he leaped up as well, chasing after the path.

At the same time, with Tendo Pein, the corpse of Yahiko was looking down at a civilian, "Tell me, where is Uzumaki Hikari?"

The man was trembling under the Rinnegan and he was so scared, he could barely speak. Tendo started to raise his arm before he jumped up to dodge a black sword that would have taken his head off.

The path landed and stared at his attacker, and he easily recognised him as one of the people close to Hikari, "Kirito."

Kirito raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so you know of me?"

The dead body of Yahiko said, "Quite. Now, hand over the Bijuu to me."

Kirito just narrowed his eyes at the man as he readied both of his swords, "I was wondering what all the commotion was about, but then I see a member of the Akatsuki here. You won't leave here alive."

Tendo stared at the swordsman and tilted his head slightly, "If you think you can kill me, by all means, try it."

Kirito didn't need another word and he charged forward, swinging the Elucidator as he easily closed the gap between him and Pein.

Tendo Pein easily dodged the slash before he tried to kick Kirito away. But the young man glowed red and easily moved out of the way. Not letting off of his Acceleration, Kirito swiftly slashed at Tendo, leaving two gashes on his chest and his arm.

The path growled as he saw the wounds on his chest and his arm. The path raised his arm at Kirito and said loudly, "Shinra Tensei!"

In an instant, Kirito felt an invisible wall slam into him as he was sent flying backwards. The swordsman cursed and extended his wings. Then he pushed himself upwards, out of the attack.

Kirito let out a breath as he stared down at Pein, considering his options. His eyes widened as he quickly swerved to a side, just in time to dodge a chakra blast aimed at his head.

The young man cursed as Shurado landed on his left, 'Another one...'

Kirito slowly turned so that he was pointing one sword at one Pein. Seeing Kirito wasn't moving, Nagato decided to take the chance to remove Shurado's robes, revealing a rather inhumane sight.

Gone was the figure of a man, and in his place, was something that looked humanoid, with a mechanical tail and six arms, with three faces.

Then Shurado charged, eager to tear Kirito to shreds. The swordsman frowned and leapt back, only for Shurado to stop charging and sprinted to the right. Kirito narrowed his eyes and stayed on guard before his eyes widened as he was pulled forward by an unknown force.

The swordsman cursed as he saw Tendo Pein's outstretched hand, and Shurado was moving towards his path of flight. Kirito quickly started channelling a sword skill, Cygnus Onslaught.

But before he could swing his blades, Shurado was already in front of him, and blood stained the floor as the path's tail pierced through Kirito's abdomen, causing him to vomit out blood.

The young man gritted his teeth in pain as he tried to push himself away from the path, but Shurado just pushed the tail blade further in, earning a sileny growl of pain from Kirito.

The young man thought, 'It's times like this I wished I could do the Kawarimi.'

Kirito glanced up and his eyes barely widened, then he tightened his grip around his swords and reactivated the sword skill he was going to use, and broke the tail blade into pieces. Not missing a beat, Kirito leaped away just in time as two massive fists slammed into Shurado, flattening the path.

Tendo raised an eyebrow, not exactly bothered that his path was destroyed, as the fists shrunk to reveal Chouza and Chouji.

Chouji glanced at Kirito, "You alright?"

The swordsman nodded as he fell to one knee, holding his wound as the two Akimichis stared down at Tendo Pein.

Then, Sakura landed beside Kirito and said, "Kirito-san."

The young man nodded in thanks as the medic wasted no time in patching him up, "Thank you."

Sakura sighed and nodded, "Its fine. But it's a rare sight, to see you actually hurt."

Kirito chuckled painfully, "Well, when you're fighting someone who can control gravity, you tend to get caught off guard."

Sakura just nodded before Kirito asked, "Where are the others?"

The medic said, "Sasuke-kun went to help Kakashi-sensei, who apparently went to fight one of them. Hinata and her team are helping evacuate the civilians, so are Ino and her team."

Kirito nodded, "The girls?"

Sakura nodded, "They're fine. They went to take care of those summons."

Kirito nodded, "I see."

Sakura nodded before she finished patching him up and they stood up. Kirito stared at Tendo Pein and said, "Let's go."

Meanwhile, moments earlier, Hikari, Fuu, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha had just finished training and were about to head out for lunch.

As they exited the compound, the girls saw the massive three headed dog, the massive centipede and Chikushodo on it, destroying the buildings around them.

Hikari narrowed her eyes, "Girls, let's go. Fuu, Suguha-chan, Asuna-chan, you three handle the summoner. Sinon-chan..."

The archer grinned, "Let's go!"

With that said, the two leaped forward and in an instant, Kurama (not yellow version) and Matatabi landed on the ground with a large boom, both roaring at the two summons of the Rinnegan.

Chikushodo raised an eyebrow at how they presented themselves to them, but figured that it just made things easier for them.

Nagato also frowned from his base, since Jigokudo was caught in a fight with Kakashi and Sasuke, Gakido was still a bit far from them, and so was Tendo. Shurado was destroyed and Ningendo wasn't capable of defeating Jiraiya any time soon.

The Rinnegan user sighed, it couldn't be helped, so he could only do his best in creating an opening for Tendo and Gakido to join Chikushodo. Now, the Animal path alone must do.

With the two Bijuu, Kurama smirked, "Hmph, my first real battle in decades and the first opponents are the Rinnegan's summons, not bad for a warm up."

Matatabi chuckled, "You're only half ad strong as you were though, don't push yourself."

The Kyubi huffed, "Who the hell do you think I am? I can still kick your ass to next month."

Matatabi just shook her head as Sinon laughed slightly, "Alright enough, they're comin. So, Kurama, Hikari-chan, which one do you want?"

Hikari stared at the two summons through Kurama's eyes. By now, the Animal path had already jumped down to fight the other three Jinchurikii, so all that was left was the two summons.

The blonde said, "The centipede, you two take the dog."

Matatabi grinned, "With pleasure."

The hell cat immediately pounced at the three headed dog. The summon barked at the cat and leaped at her in response.

But Matatabi wasn't just planning to wrestle with the dog. As soon as they came in contact, Sinon and Matatabi both yelled as they swung the summon away, out of the village. The two had no doubts that the evacuation process was almost over, since they could see any civilians around. But they had to avoid any damage done to the village.

Glancing around once more, the two tails looked towards dog and leaped towards it in a strong jump.

As the Niibi jumped, the three headed dog had crashed into the trees, destroying quite a bit of the forest surrounding Konoha. The summon growled and looked up just in time for the bijuu to slug it in the face, sending the dog crashing into the ground again.

As the bijuu landed, the summon growled and quickly got, this time trying to bite the Niibi with all three of its heads. But Matatabi and Sinon had saw it coming and leaned back slightly, just enough as the dogs teeth passed by her face harmlessly.

Without missing a beat, the Niibi spun, slamming her two tails into the dog's three faces, effectively giving it a hard slap.

That stunned the dog as it was slapped hard by the two flaming tails. And that short pause was the mistakek Matatabi and Sinon needed.

Continuing to spin, Matatabi ended up facing the dog head on, with both her tails at her face, gathering chakra in the tell tale form of the purple sphere.

The dog's three heads barely regained their bearings before they noticed the fully charged Bijuudama in their face, and the heads yelped in fear.

Then Matatabi let the bomb loose, blowing off the dog's three heads from the body and effectively killing the summon before the corpse returned to its realm.

Meanwhile, with Kurama and Hikari, the Kyubi was staring down/around at the centipede as it circled the bijuu, looking for an opening to attack. The insect knew it was hopelessly outmatched, but it still had its job.

Circling the Kyubi once more, the centipede leaped at Kurama. But the bijuu and Hikari weren't just about to stand still and let the insect attack them.

Quickly turning, Kurama reached up and grabbed the centipede from the air and gripped it hard. The centipede struggled to break free but Kurama's iron grip had prevented it.

Kurama smirked at the centipede, its eyes filled with fear. Then he gathered chakra in his mouth, and blasted the centipede to pieces.

The bijuu huffed as he dusted the remains of the centipede off his hands, "Hmph, I didn't even need a Bijuudama. Whoever this Rinnegan user is, he's way weaker than the old man."

Hikari smiled and shook her head, "You can't just simply compare someone who got the Rinnegan to the Rikudo Sennin, Kurama. Not everyone can be so strong."

Kurama just huffed before he noticed a black figure flying at them. The bijuu chuckled and said to Hikari, "Well, I'm done with my round. Time for yours."

Hikari blinked, "Wait, what?!"

The bijuu just laughed as he cut the link, returning Hikari to her normal size as she crashed onto the ground. The girl grumbled as she quickly got up just in time as Tendo landed in front of her.

Earlier, when Hikari and Sinon transformed into their respective Bijuu, Tendo Pein looked around, considering his options.

There were two Akimichi, one was most likely the clan head, the other probably the heir. There was also a pink haired girl, obviously a medic. Then there was the swordsman.

Tendo could also sense other Konoha ninja coming, that was also trouble. The path had no doubts he could kill all of them, but even if he wanted the Bijuu, his final goal was still world peace, hence he wanted to minimise casualties, even if they were necessary.

Sakura said, "Just give up, you're surrounded, your friend is dead. You can't beat us."

Tendo Pein stared at the medic, not that surprised by her ignorance, and said, "You have no idea, just how wrong you are."

The path raised his arms and Kirito's eyes widened as he quickly channeled his Acceleration, blurring around as he grabbed Chouza, Chouji and Sakura out of the area.

Then Tendo announced, "SHINRA TENSEI!"

In an instant, the area exploded, and all that was left, was a rather large crater around Tendo Pein. The path sighed, well, at least he had restrained his power so that he only destroyed everything in a 50 meter radius... He could have done a lot worse.

He also sensed that no one was caught in the blast, well, at least no one died that way. Tendo turned towards the Kyubi, the bijuu finishing off his summon.

The corpse of Yahiko cracked his neck before he used the gravitational powers granted by the Rinnegan, and launched himself at the Kyubi.

Now, Tendo stared at Hikari, "Uzumaki Hikari. You're coming with me."

Hikari glared at the path, not bothering to answer him. Tendo looked into her eyes and knew that she wouldn't follow him so easily anyways, "Hmph, I suppose a fight is unavoidable after all. Let's see if you are worthy to be an Uzumaki."

Without another word, Hikari charged forward, unleashing her chains, channeling the Chidori through it as she did. Then she swung.

Meanwhile, when the two Jinchurikii accessed their Bijuu forms, with Suguha, Fuu and Asuna, they were facing the Animal Path.

Chikushodo looked at the two Jinchurikii and one former Jinchurikii. (As far as he's concerned, Fuu merely survived, just like Gaara did.)

The path stared at them for another moment. Seeing that they weren't making the first move, he went through a set of hand seals.

That was when the three girls charged. Asuna shot forward, drawing her rapier, Suguha doing the same with her katana while Fuu dashed to the side, releasing her scale powder in the process.

The path cursed inwardly, well, its not like he didn't expect that, but it was still a pain in the ass. The Rinnegan user quickly leaped away, finishing his (?) final handseal. Then he thrust his hand forward and yelled, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

The familiar seal of the summoning jutsu appeared in the air, and with a cloud of smoke, a rhinoceros and an ox appeared charging the girls.

The girls' eyes widened, and Asuna managed to move the a side just in time to dodge the rhino, just as Fuu easily dodged the rhino as well because she was already running sideways. As for Suguha, she managed to jump above the ox, swinging her sword and slicing off one of the ox's horns.

Asuna glanced at Suguha and Fuu for a brief moment, and the three agreed silently that the two Jinchurikii of the Nanabi would take on the summons while Asuna took on the path.

The rapier user dashed forward and closed the gap between her and the path, thrusting her sword forward as she did. The path tch'd and turned his body to dodge the stab, but he was a tad bit too slow, as the blade pierced through his shoulder.

The path growled and grabbed the blade before kicking Asuna away. Chikushodo pulled the blade out of his shoulder and threw it to aside, "You will regret that."

The girl just glared at the path, 'Damn it... My sword...'

Inside her seal, Isobu hmph'd, 'So? You have better alternatives, do you not?'

Asuna calmed down and nodded, 'Of course. But I don't think we should use your chakra yet, that's the Rinnegan, he might be waiting for me to use your chakra.'

Isobu nodded, 'Fine. Tell me if you need my chakra then.'

Asuna nodded and started to draw in nature chakra from around, her hair and eyes turning light blue as she felt the power filling her body.

Chikushodo raised an eyebrow, impressed by the sudden increase in chakra from the girl.

Asuna let out a breath, "I'm not a big fan of fighting barehanded, not like Sakura. But this time, I'll have to make an exception."

The path's eyes widened as Asuna suddenly appeared in front of him, her fist cocked and ready to strike. The Rinnegan user barely had time to cross his arms before Asuna punched, sending hin flying into one of the destroyed buildings.

Asuna let out a breath, she rarely used the enhanced strength from the sage mode, but she had to admit, it was kinda fun to be able to punch that hard. Perhaps this was why Sakura and Tsunade liked their super strength so much.

With the path however, he was a bit put off by how hard the girl could hit. The worst thing was that all of his paths were occupied. Jigokudo and Ningendo were still fighting, Tendo had gone to fight Hikari, Shurado was destroyed, and Gakido was also needed to capture Hikari.

Maybe he should have gotten Konan, Itachi and Kisame to help him. But he had totally underestimated Konoha's Jinchurikii's.

But that was all over, he had to make do with what he had. The path's musings were cut off when Asuna appeared in front of him, and before he could react, the now blue haired girl smashed her fist into the path's face, earning a painful and loud crunch from his nose as he was sent flying away again.

As Asuna was prepared for another attack, Isobu spoke, 'Asuna, you better finish him now. That should dispel the summons.'

The girl blinked and looked around, Fuu and Suguha were doing quite well against the two summons, though the summons were giving them quite some trouble. Granted neither of them were using Choumei's chakra, nor was Suguha in sage mode. But then again, if she could deal with the problem, then she should.

Asuna nodded and drew on Isobu's chakra, dispelling her sage mode as she was shrouded by the red and dark chakra.

Then, a loud roar boomed the area Chikushodo's eyes barely had time to widen as a Bijuudama disintegrated his body, leaving a perfectly smooth crater where the path once stood.

With Suguha and Fuu, they were both trying to keep the two summons at bay, almost succeeding before Asuna vaporized the path, dispelling his summons along with it.

Asuna turned and walked towards the two girls, "You two alright?"

Suguha nodded, "Yeah, well, we didn't really need to do much..."

Fuu nodded and grinned, "You took care of that bastard before we could get serious!"

Asuna just chuckled before a huge explosion interrupted them. Asuna narrowed her eyes, "Let's go."

The two Nanabi Jinchurikii nodded and the three jumped away.

Meanwhile, with Kirito, after he had gotten Sakura, Chouji and Chouza out of the blast range of the Shinra Tensei, the young man had gone back to where Tendo Pein was, and to his shock, there was a rather large crater in his place.

Kirito thought, 'What da fuck...'

He looked around and saw no one there. The swordsman then spread his wings and took to the air, before he noticed one Akatsuki member, Gakido, running through the streets.

Kirito glanced at the direction he was moving and saw Hikari and Tendo Pein standing there, and he knew that Gakido was no doubt going to help Tendo capture Hikari.

Without another thought, Kirito shot downwards and landed in front of Gakido Iron-man style.

Gakido frowned in annoyance as he was forced to stop, "You again..."

Kirito raised an eyebrow, "Hmm? I've never met you actually."

Gakido hmph'd, "No? You just met me in a different body."

Kirito narrowed his eyes at the man, "No matter, you won't be going any further."

Gakido narrowed his eyes at him, "So you will stand against me... So be it. For the sake of world peace, I will take down anyone who stands in my way."

Kirito didn't reply, instead he charged forward with a roar.

XXX

DONE. So that's the 44th chapter. Happy new year guyz, so the next chapter will be Kirito vs Gakido, Kakashi/Sasuke vs Jigokudo and Jiraiya vs Ningendo.


	45. Chapter 45

Hey. So this is the 45th chapter.

This will be the end of the fights of the Pein arc. And the next chapter or so, maybe one or two, will be the end of the Pein arc as a whole.

Then we'll be moving on to the SAO parts, with the Aincrad arc being the first.

So yeah, let's begin.

XXX

(Around the time Hikari started fighting the centipede)

Kakashi was chasing Jigokudo on the rooftops. The copy ninja had to admit, the path was quite agile, and he was doing everything he could to follow him.

Kakashi flashed through a set of seals and pointed his palm at the path, "Raiton: Raiju Tsuiga!"

In that instant, a wolf made of lightning shot out of his palm, easily closing the gap between him and Jigokudo.

The path turned back as he heard Kakashi's voice and cursed, seeing the lightning wolf, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Immediately, a large face appeared and opened its mouth, letting the wolf enter the mouth before closing it shut, dispersing Kakashi's jutsu. Jigokudo narrowed his eyes before he commanded the King of Hell to attack the cyclops.

Kakashi's eyes widened as tendrils, or rather, tentacles shot at him from the face. The man wasted no time in pulling him his headband, revealing his Sharingan as he dodged the tentacles, subconsciously noting how lewd they looked before he continued dodging them.

The path frowned as Kakashi effortlessly dodged the tentacles, or rather, because he was using the Sharingan and could see how the tendrils moved. Regardless, the path was sure that with time, he would eventually catch the copy ninja.

Then, as Kakashi was about to figure out how to counter attack, a familiar voice shouted, "AMATERATSU!"

The tendrils caught fire, black fire, and they started to burn away. Then, a purple skeletal fist slammed into the face of the King of Hell, sending it skidding back for a few meters before it stopped right at the edge of the roof.

Kakashi sighed in relief as his student landed beside him, "Sasuke."

The Uchiha smirked, "What's wrong? Getting old?"

Kakashi chuckled, "You try fighting him alone, then talk."

Sasuke smirked and looked at the Akatsuki member with his Sharingan, "So, what can he do?"

Kakashi looked at the path, "For now, he generally relies on that giant face. His taijutsu is not a problem for us, but we don't know what else he can do."

Jigokudo looked indifferent, not really caring much. After all, this wasn't his true body. And if they did destroy it, he didn't lose anything, since the Rinnegan in the body would revert to a normal eye once he stopped supplying chakra.

The path didn't really have much of a choice now. Nagato had come in ill prepared, and he'd be damned if he didn't get at least one Bijuu.

Kakashi glanced at Sasuke and they nodded. In an instant, the two men appeared on either side of Jigokudo, with a Raikiri and Chidori in their left hands respectively.

But before they could strike the path, tendrils shot towards them and wrapped around their arms, stopping the attacks, to their surprise.

Then, the tentacles started to pull on their souls, and Sasuke swiftly drew his chokuto, infusing it with lightning chakra before he sliced off the tentacles.

As for Kakashi, he made a Raikiri with his right arm, which was slightly weaker due to the lack of handseals, and managed to cut the tentacle off.

Immediately after freeing themselves, Kakashi and Sasuke both leaped away just in time to dodge more tentacles. Sasuke tch'd and flipped his chokuto into forward grip and made single handseal, "Katon: Kaen Giri!"

Kakashi followed suit, drawing his White Light Chakra Saber from a seal on his arm, in forward grip, and made a single seal, "Fuuton: Tatsumaki Giri!"

The pair of student and teacher swung their swords, and unleashed a wave of fire and a hurricane respectively.

The two attacks shot towards Jigokudo and the King of Hell, ripping apart any tendrils that tried to stop them. The path cursed and at the last second, he dove into the King of Hell's mouth, avoiding the explosion.

Sasuke thought aloud, "Did we get him?"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, "No..."

As the smoke cleared, the King of Hell opened it's mouth, revealing Jigokudo standing there, frowning.

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes, "He doesn't look affected at all..."

Kakashi nodded, "It's that thing. We need to get rid of it."

Sasuke glanced at his teacher, "How?"

The cyclops eye-smiled, "I'll leave that to you."

Then he activated the Mangekyou Sharingan and yelled, "Kamui!"

Immediately, the space around Jigokudo started to bend into a swirl. The path's eyes widened and quickly wrapped a tendril from the King of Hell to his arm.

Sasuke stared at the huge face as Kakashi kept the path busy. The last Uchiha sighed, "Ah fuck it..."

He leaped off the building, focusing on his chakra. The he spoke, "Susano'o!"

The young Uchiha was then wrapped in purple flames, slowly growing until it was the size of a Bijuu. The flames took the shape of a humanoid figure, wearing armor with a shield/cross-bow and a sword.

This was a technique he had learned from the tablet in the Uchiha compound, the Susano'o. A technique that all users of the Mangekyou Sharingan could, theoretically, use.

Sasuke then focused on the second power his Sharingan had on the Susano'o's sword, "Amateratsu!"

As soon as he yelled, the purple sword turned black, and Sasuke wasted no time as he swung the Amateratsu coated sword at the King of Hell.

As the blade of black fire reached the face, the King of Hell suddenly opened his mouth, and stopped the blade with his teeth. Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise before he pushed, hard.

For a brief moment, the King of Hell held on, pushing against the blade, holding it tight between his teeth. Then Sasuke roared, and the blade of black flames sliced through the head cleanly, the only evidence was the black flames that burned on the wounds.

At the same time, with Jigokudo, the tendrils that held him vanished, leaving him vulnerable. But to his surprise, Kakashi let go of the Kamui's hold on him and charged forward.

The cyclops quickly took his tanto and channeled lightning chakra into the blade, causing electricity to flicker around the blade, "Raiton: Inazuma Giri!"

The man quickly closed the gap between him and the path, then he swung his blade horizontally. But he wasn't finished.

As soon as Kakashi passed Jigokudo, he quickly spun and gave an upward slash, leaving the Naraka path in four pieces. The man let out a breath as he nodded at his student.

Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan, "Let's go."

Kakashi nodded and they leaped away to help with the evacuations.

Meanwhile, in another part of the village, Kirito was trading blows with Gakido, flying around as the path jumped from walls to walls, building to building.

Kirito stopped midair and dove downwards, activating a sword skill as he did, "VORPAL STRIKE!"

The swordsman thrust the Elucidator at Gakido. But to his surprise, the path merely raised his arm and the glow on the sword vanished, slowing him down as he reached the path, giving the corpse an opening. Then before Kirito could react, Gakido slammed his leg in Kirito's gut, sending him flying back into the sky again.

Kirito quickly recovered his balance, holding his gut in pain, looking down at the path who was staring at him, 'What was that? It felt like he cancelled my skill... Let's try something else then.'

The swordsman shot up and started chanting, "Ek skýt fjórir ískaldur ör!"

As soon as he finished chanting, he stopped and raised his arm, then six glacial arrows formed and shot towards the path. Gakido smirked and raised his arms in attempt to absorb the chakra, and his eyes widened as he couldn't sense any chakra in the arrows before he narrowly dodged the attacks.

The path immediately jumped back. In previous battles, no matter the jutsu, Gakido could always absorb the chakra in them, which would nullify the attacks. But it didn't work for Kirito.

What the Rinnegan user did not know, was that ninjutsu utilitied chakra to maintain the shape of the jutsu, hence the variety of shapes and sizes of the attacks. If you want a jutsu with more power and size, you pump in more chakra. The chakra in the jutsu would mould the elements to form a shape.

But when it came to the spells Kirito used, it was slightly different. Sure, you want a stronger attack, pump in more chakra. But unlike ninjutsu, the spells did not require chakra to maintain the shapes. That all relied on the magic circles that formed whenever Kirito used a spell. And that was where all the chakra went.

Hence, Gakido's powers in absorbing chakra wouldn't work. There simply was no chakra in the attack for him to absorb, unlike a sword skill.

As the corpse landed on another roof, Kirito smirked. It worked. The Akatsuki member clearly had some form of ability to absorb chakra, almost similar to Yoroi's ability in the Chunnin Exams. Of course, there was an obvious difference in ability.

But his spells were immune to that. It was good that he had tried that. Kirito sheathed his blades and stared down at the man, it was time for a different approach.

Kirito started to chant, "Ek fleygja þrír geirr muspilli..."

Gakido instantly went on guard, wary of whatever spell Kirito would throw at him. Then, to his surprise, Kirito glowed red and vanished. The corpse's eyes widened as he heard, "Ekku fureigyua surīru geīru musupīri!"

The man barely had time to jump away as three fire spears shot out of the magic circles at Kirito's palms. The swordsman had used his Acceleration to move behind Gakido before finishing his chant.

Unfortunately, the path's senses were too good to be caught in such an attack. Though, Gakido didn't leave unscathed. Two of the fire spears had managed to pierce his right shoulder and the left part of his waist, leaving a very serious burn on the body.

But that didn't mean much for the Rinnegan user. While Nagato had shared vision with the corpse, it didn't include the sense of pain, even if he could perceive the amount of damage received by the body.

Gakido frowned as he touched the burns, barely feeling any pain... No, it was more accurate to say that he felt no pain, rather, a small discomfort. The only sign that the body was damaged.

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he saw Gakido standing there, touching his wounds as if they were nothing. Normally, anyone with that kind of burns would at least wince, if not scream in pain, when anything came in contact with those wounds. Yet, the Akatsuki member was touching them as if they were nothing.

The corpse looked up at Kirito, he needed to get the swordsman on the ground, that was the only way he could take away all his chakra.

Gakido breathed in before he channeled chakra to his legs. Then he jumped. Kirito was not expecting the Akatsuki member to reach him in one jump. Not at all.

The path easily covered the distance between them, and Kirito quickly flew backwards, with the path following him. The swordsman thought, 'How much chakra did he pump in his legs?!'

Kirito raised his arms and yelled, "TEMPESTA!"

Immediately, a green circle appeared and blasted a torrent of raging winds at the path. Of course, this was considerably weaker than one with the full chant, but it was enough.

Gakido's eyes widened as he saw the magic circle form, and he managed to enhance his body with chakra just as the winds hit him, sending him falling to the ground.

The path growled silently, reminding himself to stay calm as he charged chakra into his legs once more and jumped at Kirito.

That was the path's last mistake.

As Gakido closed in on Kirito, the swordsman raised his arms and yelled, "Ignest!"

Five fireballs instantly formed and shot towards the path. Gakido cursed and crossed his arms in an attempt to block the flames, grunting as the fireballs impacted against him.

Then Gakido saw a flash of red before Kirito vanished, and the path's eyes widened as he turned his head to see Kirito behind him, the Elucidator drawn, the black blade glowing light blue.

Kirito roared as he moved, "Horizontal Square!"

The swordsman left two slashes on Gakido's back, using the momentum of his second slash as he spun around the path, leaving two other slashes as he stopped in front of the already dead man.

A square of chakra burst out of the path's body before it fell to pieces, dropping to the ground as the Rinnegan faded from the body's eyes.

Kirito slowly descended to the ground where Gakido's body pieces laid. Looking at the remains of the body once more, he turned and left, intending to help out wherever he was needed.

Meanwhile, with Jiraiya, he was staring at Ningendo. The path was a formidable foe, even without access to standard ninjutsu or genjutsu. His taijutsu along with his ability to rip souls out of a person was enough to keep Jiraiya on guard. One slip, and he's dead.

Ningendo said, breaking the silence from their little stare down, "Jiraiya-sensei, wasn't your dream world peace?"

Jiraiya stared at his former student in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Ningendo started walking, circling his teacher, which put the older man on guard, "You know of my past, I've lived through a war, been in one. That was why I formed the Akatsuki in the first place. To bring peace."

The sage glared at his student, "Killing off innocent people, gaining power, that is not peace!"

Ningendo nodded and looked at Jiraiya in the eye, "That's right. But, the Akatsuki wasn't always like that. We, Yahiko, Konan and I... When we started the organisation, we tried to promote talks of peace. We started in our own country, our own village."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, staring at his student, wary of where this conversation was going. Ningendo continued, "We were going to talk with Hanzo, to stop the civil war in Amegakure. But... All that did, was get Yahiko killed."

Jiraiya's eyes widened before he stared at his student, "So... You decided that using power was the answer..."

Ningendo nodded, "You could say that. Yes. With all the bijuu and the Rinnegan, I can destroy every village... No, I can destroy the whole planet with nothing but a snap of my fingers. That would instil fear in everyone, no?"

Jiraiya was confused, "Fear?"

The path nodded, "Yes. That would cause everyone to stop their conflicts. They would focus on us, a larger target."

The sage glared at his former student, "That won't work. Once someone gets rid of you, that peace will crumble, and everything will fade back to what it was."

Ningendo smiled humourlessly, "Then I'll just have to make sure I'm the strongest in the world, you won't know if you haven't tried."

Jiraiya glared at him, "That's enough. What you're doing is ridiculous. It would kill a lot of people."

Ningendo shook his head, "It seems you still don't understand, sacrifices must be made for something like world peace."

Jiraiya charged, roaring, "There'd be no meaning for peace if there isn't anyone left to enjoy it!"

The toad sage made an Odama Rasengan in his right palm and yelled, "Odama Rasengan!"

Ningendo narrowed his eyes as he jumped up, avoiding the sphere of destruction before he tried to grab Jiraiya's arm, intending to take away his soul.

Jiraiya cursed, but he couldn't move away. His attack had left him wide open. The conversation with Nagato, no... Pein, had made him recklessly charge forward.

But before Ningendo could grab Jiraiya, a loud yell caught their attention, and a white and yellow figure slammed into Ningendo, sending him flying into a building.

Jiraiya regained his footing and turned, "Tsunade?"

The Hokage smirked, "What's wrong, Jiraiya? Getting old?"

The sage chuckled, "Not yet I'm not."

Tsunade nodded, "Good. Let's go, evacuations are all done. It's time end this."

Jiraiya nodded, "Yeah."

Then, Ningendo stumbled out of the building, glaring at the pair. The path said, "Senju Tsunade, huh.. It's been a while."

The Hokage raised an eyebrow, "Have we met?"

Ningendo tilted his head slightly, "Of course, you wouldn't recognise me in this body, right, Jiraiya-sensei?"

Tsunade's eyes widened as she looked at Jiraiya, "Jiraiya-sensei? He's one of the kids back then?"

The sage nodded, "Yeah."

The slug summoner nodded, "I see. Don't make the mistake Sarutobi-sensei made."

Jiraiya hmph'd, "Who the hell do you think I am?"

Tsunade grinned, making the path stay on guard, "The worst super pervert."

Jiraiya chuckled, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Without another word, the last two loyal of the Sannin charged, instantly appearing in front of Ningendo. The path barely had time to raise his arms as the two students of the Third Hokage punched him hard, sending him flying into the same building he crashed into just now.

Jiraiya bit his palm and went through a set of seals, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

He slammed his palm on the ground and summoned two small toads, the two toad sages of Mount Myoboku, Fukasaku and Shima.

Fukasaku and Shima glanced at Jiraiya and nodded, knowing instantly what the man wanted. In less than five minutes, the three sages gathered enough nature chakra, and Jiraiya entered sage mode.

Tsunade followed suit, but instead of sage mode, she merely activated the seal on her forehead, forming seals on her body.

Ningendo managed to get out from the building just as Jiraiya and Tsunade finished with their enhanced modes. The path glanced at the two Kage level ninja, and he instantly knew that the path had no hope of surviving.

But then again, the path had a job to do anyways, and all he needed to do was to grab either of them for two seconds. Then he had won.

But before the path could think further, Jiraiya and Tsunade moved. Ningendo cursed as he started to run. But before he could move far, the two Kage level ninja were already in front of him.

Maybe he should have taken a different approach, with all his paths in one place. That way he could use Jigokudo to repair all the paths. But that was over. He had underestimated Konoha, his former master and possibly his last living blood relative.

Then Jiraiya and Tsunade roared, a Chou Odama Rasengan in the former's hand, while Tsunade pumped in a large amount of chakra into her fist.

Then a huge explosion covered the area, with everything within a 10 meter radius reduced to nothing.

Then, Jiraiya and Tsunade appeared on a roof. The Hokage commented, "Well, at least none of the villagers got caught in it."

Jiraiya just sighed and shook his head before he saw a yellow blur shoot out of the village walls. The man thought, 'Hikari?'

Earlier, back with Tendo and Hikari. The two Uzumaki were trading blows, sending punches, kicks and other attacks at each other.

Tendo let out a breath as he landed, wary of the female Uzumaki. Truth to be told, for someone as young as her to keep up with him in Yahiko's body, that spoke volumes of her strength. That impressed him a lot.

Unlike most ninja, who trained in their own villages, Nagato, Konan and Yahiko didn't have a ninja village to train them. The only way they got stronger was by Jiraiya's teachings and doing real missions without any guidance. That helped them grow stronger at a really high rate.

But that wasn't the only reason Nagato was impressed. Until now, Hikari was only in her base form, not using any of Kurama's chakra or senjutsu, and she could keep up with him.

Okay, granted he wasn't using his full powers, only that of Tendo, and he wasn't using his power over gravity yet. But still, it showed that she was far stronger than he thought.

Then, as they traded punches again, Hikari asked, frowning, "Hey, it's been on my mind since I saw you. Your chakra, you're an Uzumaki, right?"

Tendo's eyes widened slightly as he smiled slightly, "So you noticed."

Hikari nodded as they leaped away from each other, "Jiraiya-sensei taught me how to sense other's chakra. Yours felt unnatural, like its not supposed to be in that body. What are you?"

Tendo chuckled, "To have figured out so much with just sensing my chakra. I'm impressed."

The path looked at the girl's eyes, the Rinnegan boring into the girl's blue eyes, "I possess the Rinnegan. That allows me to take over dead bodies, and use them as extensions of myself."

Tendo smiled slightly, "And yes, I am an Uzumaki, just like you. We're cousins, in a way."

Hikari frowned, "Then, why are you doing this?"

Tendo Pein looked at the girl, "For peace, of course. That is Jiraiya-sensei's dream, MY dream."

Hikari blinked, not taking her eyes off of Pein, "Jiraiya-sensei? Then...You..."

Tendo Pein nodded, "Yes. My name, is Uzumaki Nagato, no doubt he's told you about me."

The blonde Uzumaki nodded, "Yes."

Then the girl glared at him, "But, you said you wanted peace..."

Tendo tilted his head, "And?"

The girl swung her arms, gesturing at the village, "HOW IS THIS PEACE?!"

Tendo sighed and shook his head in disappointment, "Sacrifices must be made to achieve a goal, Hikari. Peace is not an exception. That's why I'm gathering the Bijuu. You are my relative, possibly my last living one. That's why I'm offering you, join me. We can achieve peace together, as family."

Hikari glared at him, "What you're doing isn't peace... It's terrorism. You don't kill innocent people to obtain peace, you don't use the bijuu, living beings like us, as weapons."

Tendo sighed, "It seems you are just like Jiraiya-sensei, I shouldn't have expected too much."

The blonde Uzumaki glared at him again, "No, what you're doing is wrong."

Tendo raised an eyebrow, "How so? Enlighten me then."

The girl's glare seemed to intensify, sending shivers down the path's spine. That glare reminded him too much of his mother, too much.

Hikari said, controlling her anger, "Peace is achieved by understanding each other, by putting aside our differences. It's not something you can achieve through power."

Tendo nodded, "That's true. Once, I thought like you. If you can defeat me, in this body, I will tell you, and you will understand why I did what I did."

Hikari didn't reply as Tendo charged. The girl narrowed her eyes as the Rinnegan user thrust his palms at her, "Shinra Tensei!"

Hikari's eyes widened as she turned and threw a Hiraishin kunai. Then, as the gravitational field reached the girl, she vanished in a flash of yellow. The path smiled humourlessly as he gave chase.

With Hikari, she appeared some distance away from where she previously was. The girl thought, 'Time to use sage mode then.'

Kurama didn't reply, letting the girl choose. While he didn't mind her using his chakra, Hikari had to learn to not to rely on him. Of course, if anyone were to ask him, Kurama still preferred that she use his chakra to fight someone as strong as Pein. But that's beside the point.

The girl started to focus, drawing in chakra from the environment as she closed her eyes. Then the blonde parts of her hair turned to a light shade of brown, her eyes became slitted, and her whisker marks deepened.

Hikari opened her eyes and let out a breath, unlike using Kurama's chakra, the sage mode gave her a different kind of heightened senses. When she used the Bijuu's chakra, it was like having an adrenaline rush. Everything became clear all at once, and you could keep track of everything, even when it seemed like a blur.

But when she used sage mode. It was calming, unlike the rush she felt from using bijuu chakra. Everything slowed down, it became clear, like she could analyse everything easily. It also gave her an immense increase in strength. It felt refreshing to use it once in a while.

Hikari turned, her senses further increased by the sage mode. It allowed her to sense chakra signatures instantly, and she could feel Nagato, no, Pein coming at her.

The female Uzumaki jumped up to see Tendo Pein flying at her, then he raised his arm and said, "Basho Tenin."

Hikari's eyes widened as she felt herself move forward towards the Rinnegan user, as if something was pulling at her. The girl tch'd and took out a Hiraishin kunai and threw it at Pein, aiming at the spot beside his head.

The man easily saw the kunai coming, and he knew the projectile wouldn't hit him. Pein scoffed, it wasn't even worth using the Shinra Tensei to repel it.

Then the seal on the kunai caught his attention. His eyes widening as he realised his mistake. Tendo Pein yelled, "Shin-"

Before he could finish, a yellow flash blinded him. Then all of a sudden, it was as if a train had slammed into his face. Well, if that train had been compressed into the size of a fist, retaining all its mass and speed of 120km/h. But that was irrelevant.

The path was sent flying, crashing straight into another random building. Kurama whistled as he saw the damage from that one punch, "Wow, now THAT, is what I call a good punch."

Hikari just smiled. The sage mode had given her an immense increase in strength. That placed her normal punches on Tsunade's level with her super strength. But when she used the super strength technique along with her already enhanced strength. Well, Kurama just pitied her future opponents.

The dead body of Yahiko moved out of the building. Hikari stared at the body and tried her best not to laugh. Tendo Pein's face was messed up. Seriously. The nose was bent in ways Hikari never knew existed, the eyes were miraculously intact, but the cheeks were incredibly swollen, and the jaw was literally hanging. As for the black chakra receivers in the nose, they were unevenly poking out of the strangely bent nose.

Kurama roared and rolled on the ground with laughter as soon as he saw the face. The bijuu never knew such a sight could be so hilarious. Well, then again, he did have a twisted sense of humour.

Hikari could only sweatdrop as she heard the Bijuu's laughter in her seal.

Tendo Pein growled and glared at the girl, which only made Kurama laugh harder. And for some reason, Pein knew exactly that the Bijuu in Hikari was laughing his ass off.

The path spoke, glaring at the girl, "Ez tam ta in thes."

(Just so no one gets confused. Translation: Its time to end this.)

Hikari stiffled a laugh before she nodded, with Kurama's laughter roaring louder in the seal, "Yeah, let's end this."

Tendo Pein raised his arms at Hikari as the girl raised her arm above her head, forming a Rasenshuriken.

Then, Pein roared, "SHINRA TENSEI!"

Hikari responded and threw her jutsu, "Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!"

The gravitational jutsu and the wind jutsu collided, pushing against each other as they fought for dominance. Nagato was surprised. For as long as he knew, nothing could stand against his jutsu, especially Shinra Tensei.

Yet here was one jutsu, a wind jutsu, pushing against his jutsu on equal terms. It was simply ridiculous.

But Hikari wasn't just going to let the two jutsu clashed. Taking advantage of Pein's state of shock, the girl threw a Hiraishin kunai at Pein and appeared in front of him, a Raiton Rasengan in her palms.

Tendo Pein's eyes widened. Then Nagato felt his connection with Yahiko's body vanish.

Hikari let out a breath and looked around. Their battle had destroyed a lot of the village, at least, the area they were in now. The girl closed her eyes and thought, 'Time to have a talk with my... cousin.'

Kurama asked, concerned, "Are you sure? You'll be heading for enemy territory."

Hikari nodded, 'Yeah. Help me with this, Kurama.'

The Bijuu nodded as the girl reached out with her senses, searching for Nagato's chakra signature she had felt in the path. She knew that wasn't his true body, the chakra just didn't feel natural.

After a good five minutes, she finally found him. The fact that she could even reach out to half the distance to Nagato was already astounding. If it wasn't for sage mode and Kurama's help, along with her already impressive sensory skills, she wouldn't have reached that far.

The girl opened her eyes, drawing a Hiraishin kunai, looking at the direction where Amegakure was. Then she threw her kunai and vanished in a flash of yellow.

XXX

DONE. So, that's the end of the fights. The next chapter will be the end of the Pein arc, and Hikari's talk with Nagato. How will it go? Will he die? Will he live? What about the Bijuu?

Review please. Tell me what you all think.


	46. Chapter 46

Hey. So this is chapter 46. I finished this chapter earlier than I expected, since I had the day off, and I'm currently waiting for classes to start this March.

To **Guest** , yes Hikari has the Dragon sage mode. To why her whisker marks become darker, why not? Well, it looks cool. And this is not the toad version. I mean, compared to dragons, toads would be more... Tame, don'tcha think? So I thought, how about deepening the whisker marks to make it seem more fierce?

So yeah. Here's the 46th chapter.

Xxx

In Amegakure, Nagato gasped as he felt his connection with Yahiko vanish. Konan asked, worried, "What happened, Nagato?"

The Uzumaki panted, "They did it. They destroyed all my paths. Including Yahiko."

The woman nodded, "I see... What's done is done. We can find replacements."

The man snapped, "NO! I was too arrogant! I underestimated them!"

Konan sighed and looked at her best friend, "Nagato. We are human, we make mistakes. Its FINE to make mistakes."

Nagato gritted his teeth, "I promised... To make Yahiko's dream, our dream..."

Konan felt anger rise in her chest, she knew why he was acting like this. Ever since Yahiko died, Nagato had been depressed.

Then he discovered his powers with the Rinnegan, that he could revive a person. That gave him hope that he could bring Yahiko back. But then he found out it would work only shortly after they died.

The man had snapped, angry that he didn't discover that earlier. Then he found out about his abilities with the paths, and he thought he could bring back their friend. But all that did, was let Nagato take over Yahiko's body.

Konan never blamed Nagato, she understood that he only wanted to bring back their friend. Then Nagato swore that he'd realise their dream, by using Yahiko's body.

So when Hikari defeated all his paths, Nagato snapped. Konan didn't blame him, she couldn't blame him. After all, underneath all that resolve, underneath that hardened warrior with the Rinnegan, underneath the god of Amegakure, was just a lonely man who had lost his family and the closest thing he had to a brother.

In fact, if Konan died, she was sure Nagato would go insane, possibly to the point where he'd either commit suicide, or destroy the world, himself along with it. Konan knew just how much her support meant to him.

But seeing him snap like that was just pathetic. It pained Konan to see him like that. Nagato used to be confident, and yes, he was still confident after Yahiko died, or at least, seemed to be. But Konan knew better. She'd even notice how Nagato used Yahiko's body a lot, to the point that it would seem like he was living in Yahiko's body.

The woman slapped him hard, causing Nagato to look at her in shock, "K-konan? What?"

The bluenette glared at him, "Are you done?"

Nagato blinked, "What are you talking about?"

Konan stared at him, "Are you done feeling miserable about yourself? Sure, you failed, you lost all your paths, but is that the end?"

Nagato looked at the device his body was attached to, "What do you think? All my paths are destroyed. Most of the Akatsuki are killed. All we have, are Itachi, Kisame and Zetsu. We can't even rely on Madara..."

Konan glared at him before slapping him again, "Are you really so lost?!"

Nagato blinked at the woman, "What do you mean?"

The woman clenched her fists, "Our goal is peace. Using the Bijuu isn't our only choice!"

Nagato continued staring at the device attached to his body, "Not anymore. How can I promote peace, with all the things I've done?"

A yellow flash came, and a voice said, "You can, if you don't give up."

The two turned to see Hikari in the room. Konan asked, surprised, "H-how did you get here?"

The blonde Uzumaki grinned, holding up a Hiraishin kunai, "Seals really are a wonderful thing."

Hikari then looked at Nagato, "You, I don't know what you're dealing with now. But, you said your goal was peace, right?"

Nagato looked at his relative and nodded. Hikari then asked, "Why, did you resort to fear?"

Nagato didn't answer, looking at the ground, then he spoke, "The Akatsuki wasn't always gathering the bijuu."

Hikari blinked, "Eh?"

Nagato looked up at the girl, his Rinnegan boring into her eyes, "I've already lost. Let me tell you my story. Then you decide what to do."

Konan wanted to protest, but Nagato sent her a glance, and she stopped. For some reason, seeing his blood relative had changed the look in his eyes. That gave the woman some hope.

Nagato then looked at the girl, "When I was a child, my village was caught in a war, Konoha being one of the villages fighting in that war. A few Konoha ninja came to my house, they mistook them for the enemy. They killed them. That was how I awakened my Rinnegan. I killed those ninja with it."

Hikari stayed silent, letting Nagato continue, "After that, I left home. The war had destroyed everything around my village. No one bothered to help me. Then I met them, Konan, and Yahiko."

The Uzumaki took in a breath, "They helped me. They saved me when I was about to give up. They taught me how to survive. For a while, it was nice, everything went well."

The man's eyes turned dark, and Konan closed her eyes as she remembered, "Then war came again. The place we lived in turned into a warzone again, this time between Konoha and Amegakure."

Nagato looked at Hikari, "That was when we saw them. Three ninja who fought and survived against Hanzo the Salamander."

The blonde's eyes widened, "Jiraiya-sensei?"

Nagato nodded, "Exactly. We met the Sannin. We begged them to help us, teach us how to survive, teach us how to fight. Tsunade didn't want to because she felt that she couldn't do it, and Orochimaru wanted to kill us. But, Jiraiya-sensei stayed back with us."

The elder Uzumaki let out a sigh, "He took care of us. He taught us ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. He even taught me how to use my Rinnegan."

Nagato closed his eyes, "But, he had to leave. Jiraiya-sensei had his duty as a Konoha ninja, and he couldn't exactly bring us with him. So we trained by ourselves. We trained to stop the wars, to keep everyone safe."

The man then opened his eyes and looked at Hikari, "That's why we formed the Akatsuki. It was to promote peace. In the beginning, our members weren't all that capable of combat. They all wanted peace like we did. And after months, we finally managed to get a meeting with Hanzo."

Anger then burned in Nagato's eyes, "But in the end, it was a trap. Hanzo ambushed us, along with a man from Konoha, Shimura Danzo. He threatened Konan, and wanted me to kill Yahiko instead."

Hikari narrowed her eyes, she knew Danzo was a bastard of a warhawk, but never did she expect for his actions to lead to their current predicament.

Nagato continued, "I couldn't choose, and Yahiko did it for me. He killed himself to save Konan. That's when I snapped, I summoned the Gedo Mazo and destroyed them all. But I couldn't kill Danzo. He alone escaped."

The man then looked at the blonde, "That's when I realised it. Peace could never be achieved normally. There will always be people who waged war. That's why I chose fear. People, with fear of a stronger enemy, would never wage war. That would keep the world in a state of peace. That's why I started gathering the Bijuu."

Nagato then gestured to the woman with him, "This is Konan, and Yahiko, he's the path you destroyed."

Hikari's eyes widened in slight surprise as Konan gave her a short nod. Nagato then said, "So, I've told you my story. What do you want to do? I've sealed around half of the bijuu into the Gedo Mazo. And like you said, what I'm doing is terrorism."

Hikari took in a breath and closed her eyes, taking in everything she heard from the man. A part of her still thought he was the enemy, that he should be eliminated. But the girl knew that Nagato was much more than just the leader of the Akatsuki. She made her decision.

The girl opened her eyes and stared at the man, "This is something I told a kid I knew from a while ago. As long as you don't give up, you've already won, all you need to do, is to finish it."

Konan and Nagato's eyes widened in surprise at those words as Hikari continued, "I suppose I can see where you're coming from. You lost a lot, that's true. But, what you're doing now, it's a shortcut, a bad one. Peace isn't something you can achieve by using something like fear. It is something you achieve by mutually understanding each other."

Nagato shook his head, "I've told you. I've been there. It won't work. In this twisted, this cursed world, peace like that won't be possible."

Hikari closed her eyes before she opened them and said, "Then, I will break that curse. If there is such a thing a true peace, I'll find it, with Jiraiya-sensei, with my family!"

Hearing those words, Nagato's eyes widened, "Those words..."

The blonde nodded, "Yeah, those words are from Jiraiya-sensei's first and only decent book. When I was travelling around the nations with him, he showed it to me."

The girl smiled softly, "Compared to all his other work, that was a really good book. When I looked at the back, I saw your name. That's when he told me about you."

Nagato gaped, "That's..."

Hikari looked at him and grinned, "To be honest, I'm not like you, not like Jiraiya-sensei. I don't have a noble dream like you do. All I want is to be Hokage, and protect my family. That's all."

The elder Uzumaki was speechless, "I see..."

Hikari then looked at Konan before turning back to him, "Also, nothing can excuse you of all your actions. But, I'll ask you anyways, will you join us?"

Nagato and Konan were once again speechless, the older Uzumaki asking, "What do you mean?"

The girl smiled, "If you want to achieve peace, then you should work with Jiraiya-sensei. He may be a super pervert, but if you two work together, you can definitely get there. And if need be, I will be there with you, with our family. You are an Uzumaki like me, right?"

Nagato blinked. He blinked again. Then he laughed. He laughed out loud. That shocked Konan. In all her years with him, she had never heard him laugh, not since Yahiko died.

The man smiled, "I see. If you will have me, then I suppose it wouldn't be so bad to join you."

Konan gaped, "Nagato?!"

The elder Uzumaki smiled at his best friend, "I'm tired, Konan. Besides, don't you want to meet our old teacher again?"

Konan sighed, "I suppose... But... What about Amegakure?"

Nagato blinked, "What about it?"

The woman gaped, before she asked, "Who will take over the village? Without us, there isn't a leader!"

Nagato chuckled and gestured to the village, "To be honest, even without us, the village will continue to grow. I've never really done anything for the village. They just came to me with ideas, and I just told them to go ahead with their plans everytime. They can handle themselves."

Konan sighed and facepalmed, "I suppose you're right."

Hikari giggled, "Then, shall we go?"

Nagato spoke up, "Before that, there are quite a number of ninja I've killed when I was looking for you."

Konan's eyes widened and she snapped her head at him, "No! That will kill you!"

The man shook his head, "No. Not if I have enough chakra, so, Hikari, will you help me?"

Hikari blinked before she heard Kurama speak, "Go ahead. He's talkin about the Rinne Tensei no Jutsu. It's fine."

Hikari nodded and walked to Nagato who started going through a set of handseals. Nagato then looked at her, "Place your hands on the device, it will take your chakra to me."

The blonde nodded and did so. Then, Nagato spoke, "Gedo: Rinne Tensei no jutsu."

The girl instantly felt a huge chunk of her chakra vanish as Nagato glowed green. Then, the glow died out.

Outside the village, the King of Hell appeared on the ground. Then, it opened its mouth, and many green balls of light shot out of the mouth, shooting towards Konoha, bringing back all the ninja that Pein had killed earlier back to life.

Back in Amegakure, Hikari's eyes widened. She had exited sage mode, but the massive increase in chakra signatures could be felt even here. The girl stared at Nagato, "That jutsu..."

The older man grinned tiredly, "Yeah, Rinne Tensei no Jutsu. With the Rinnegan, I can revive people who are dead recently. I did kill a lot of people looking for the Bijuu after all."

Hikari nodded and stepped away from him before she asked, "About the bijuu..."

She was cut off by an annoyed voice, "As expected, you really are a problematic existence, Namikaze Hikari."

The three turned to see Tobi swirling into existense beside them. Nagato narrowed his eyes, "Madara..."

Tobi chuckled, "I go by Tobi now. Of course, Madara is a very good and intimidating name. But, I suppose Tobi suits me better."

Hikari glared at him, "It's over, Tobi."

The masked man chuckled and shook his index finger, "No, its just the beginning. But, I don't know if I should be annoyed, angered or impressed. You even managed to get Nagato to your side."

Nagato glared at him, "I'm disbanding the Akatsuki, and I'm releasing the Bijuu. Hikari showed me, there are other ways to achieve my goal."

Tobi narrowed his eye, "I see. Then I suppose I'll be taking your eyes."

Nagato, Hikari and Konan's eyes widened as Tobi immediately vanished into the swirl. Hikari and Konan both cursed and quickly turned. But they were too late, as Nagato screamed in pain.

Behind the Uzumaki, was Tobi, swirling back into existence, placing two purple eyes into a container. The masked man said, "I suppose I'll have to cleanse these eyes a bit."

Konan growled as Hikari used the Shosen no Jutsu on Nagato, the man still screaming in pain, "Give him back his eyes!"

Tobi chuckled as he held up the container, "You misunderstood. These eyes were never his, they were, and always will be mine."

The man turned, laughing darkly, "I had thought he'd be able to wield the Rinnegan properly, I guess I expected too much. Ciao."

Without waiting for them, Tobi vanished into a swirl.

Hikari gritted her teeth as she tried her best to stop the bleeding. The girl looked at Konan, "We have to go to Konoha, Tsunade-baachan can help."

Konan protested, "What?! No! They'll kill him!"

The blonde growled, "No time! Grab on to my shoulder!"

The elder woman hesitated for a moment before she nodded and placed her hand on Hikari's shoulder. Then they vanished in a yellow flash.

As they vanished, they failed to notice a crow with Sharingan eyes staring at the spot they were standing at. The crow flapped its wings and flew out of the building, heading towards the forest and perched onto a tree branch, right above one Uchiha Itachi.

The kinslayer reached into his robes and pulled out a container, containing two perfect Sharingan eyes. Itachi thought, 'I suppose, I can help them a little.'

The man then burst into a dozen crows, heading for Konoha.

In Konoha, back with Jiraiya and Tsunade, they had gone back to the Hokage tower, planning to discuss how to repair the village. As they talked, a yellow flash interrupted them.

The flash quickly died down, revealing Hikari, Konan and the eye-less Nagato who was holding his face in pain.

Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise, "Hikari? What's going on?"

The younger blonde said urgently, "Help him."

The best medic didn't waste any time as she quickly went to work on Nagato's eyes, not caring who he was as she flared her chakra, summoning Anbu to move him to the hospital.

As Tsunade did her work, Jiraiya walked to Konan and Hikari. The man asked, surprised, "Konan?"

The woman turned and smiled softly at her teacher, "Jiraiya-sensei. It's been a while."

The sage looked at Hikari, "Explain."

The girl nodded, "After I destroyed the last of the paths, I went to Amegakure with the Hiraishin. I met Konan and Nagato there, and we talked."

Jiraiya nodded, "Okay, then?"

Konan decided to take over, "She managed to convince Nagato to stop, and to join her. But then Madara... Tobi came in and took Nagato's eyes."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, "Madara? Tobi?"

The younger blonde nodded, "Remember our encounter with Tobi? Apparently he initially posed as Uchiha Madara, but later decided that Tobi was a better name for himself."

Jiraiya nodded, "I see... So, he took Nagato's eyes?"

Konan nodded, "Yes, and Hikari brought us here."

The sage closed his eyes and nodded, "I see. We'll deal with you later. Now we have to see if Tsunade can help Nagato."

The two nodded, relieved that Jiraiya didn't outright attack Konan. Regardless of personal feelings, Jiraiya was still a loyal ninja of Konoha, and Konan and Nagato had attacked Konoha after all.

The three then quickly headed for the hospital, where Tsunade and the Anbu had taken Nagato to.

As they walked, Kakashi and Sasuke noticed them. Sasuke blinked, "Hey... Those robes..."

Kakashi nodded, narrowing his eyes, "She's part of Akatsuki. But, why is she with Hikari and Jiraiya-sama?"

The Uchiha didn't reply, instead walking straight towards them, "Hikari."

The girl turned and greeted, "Sasuke, hey."

The Uchiha nodded and point at Konan, "I see. But, why is she here?"

Hikari glanced at the woman and turned to Sasuke, "Long story short, she's with Pein. I talked with them, they agreed to joining us, but Tobi took Nagato's Rinnegan, and I brought them here, and Tsunade-baachan is healing him now."

Sasuke blinked, "What?"

Hikari growled in annoyance and turned, "Just follow us if you want."

Jiraiya and Konan quickly joined them, following her to the hospital. Sasuke just blinked several times as Kakashi patted his shoulder, "So, shall we follow them?"

Sasuke sighed, "Sure, whatever."

The cyclops chuckled as they followed after the three to the hospital.

A while later, Tsunade had just finished patching Nagato's wounds and moved him to a ward. The Hokage sighed as she motioned to Shizune to take care of the rest as she walked out of the room.

Tsunade then noticed Hikari, Konan, Jiraiya and strangely Sasuke along with Kakashi. Konan immediately asked, "How is he?"

Tsunade sighed, "I've stopped the bleeding and managed to heal most of his nerves. A transplant is required, so he just won't be able to see until we find a suitable pair of eyes for him."

Jiraiya nodded, "So?"

The medic rubbed her temples as she sent a tired glare at Konan, "Problem is, thanks to your recent attack on our village, there are no suitable eyes for him. None of them fits him."

Konan only blinked as turned away. Hikari asked, "Then, he can get the transplant done as soon as we get a set of eyes for him, right?"

Tsunade nodded before she said, "Theoretically, yes. But its not that simple. It seems Nagato already had his eyes transplanted once, and it was done poorly. Right now, his socket is too accustomed to having a doujutsu in it. Even if we did find a suitable pair of eyes, if its not a doujutsu, he'll go blind eventually. But unfortunately, we're fresh out of those too."

Jiraiya rubbed his temples as he sat down. Getting a nice pair of eyes with a doujutsu was not an easy task. Konoha was fresh out of them, and he was sure other villages wouldn't have them laying around for them.

Sure, Nagato had attacked Konoha. But he was still his student, and he still cared for him somewhat.

Then, Sasuke glanced out at the window and noticed a crow, more importantly, a container containing two Sharingan eyes. The young Uchiha said, "What is that?"

Everyone turned as Sasuke walked to the window and picked up the container. The young man blinked, "Sharingan?"

He glanced up as the crow took off, a Sharingan briefly flashing in one of its eyes, and Sasuke's eyes widened as he realised who it was, "Itachi..."

Kakashi spoke up, catching his attention, "Sasuke?"

The Uchiha turned and looked at Tsunade, "Hokage-sama, will these do?"

He showed her the container and her eyes widened, "H-how?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "Itachi..."

The two of the Sannin instantly understood, albeit in a different way to what Sasuke thought. It meant that Itachi believed that Nagato could be trusted. That spoke volumes of the man.

Tsunade nodded, "I see. Yes, these will work. Thank you, Sasuke."

The Uchiha nodded, not really caring that someone was getting a Sharingan transplanted into them. He had long discarded the mindset that only an Uchiha could use a Sharingan, and all that crap about the Uchiha clan. Of course, he still respected his clan, but nothing extreme.

The medic immediately went to work, leaving the others standing there.

Meanwhile, outside Konoha, Itachi stood on a tree. The man reached into his robes and took out a weasel mask. The Akatsuki was over. It was time to return to his original objective.

Itachi placed the mask back into his robes and dispersed into a dozen crows. It was time to see what Kisame was planning to do, and if he posed a threat to Sasuke and Konoha.

Back in Konoha, after a few hours, Tsunade finished transplanting the eyes into Nagato's sockets. She also managed to fix the problem he had after connecting himself to the Gedo Mazo, which was just totally removing all the black chakra receivers connected to his spine.

The medic figured that in a few months, Nagato would be as healthy as any normal man.

Now, everyone was in Nagato's room. The elder Uzumaki had bandages over his eyes, so he couldn't see yet, but he could feel who was in the room.

Tsunade sighed, "So, now that's over. It's time to figure out what to do with you two."

The Hokage stared at the two, "Truthfully, I don't trust you two. Even if Jiraiya vouched for you, I would have killed you right when I saw you."

The two didn't say anything, knowing she had every right. Jiraiya however felt offended, even more so as Tsunade finished, "But I trust my god-daughter's judgement. If she deems that you two are trustworthy, then I'll give you two a chance."

Konan nodded and bowed her head, "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Nagato nodded from his bed, "Yes, thank you very much, Hokage-sama."

The Senju grimaced as she heard how they addressed her, but decided to just take it in. The woman then spoke, "Even so, I cannot just leave you two here. So I'll have Anbu following you two wherever you go, got that?"

The two nodded. Tsunade nodded, "Good. Now, if you want to enrol as ninja in this village, well, I won't stop you. But just so we're clear, it's because of Hikari, that you two are even allowed to stay here, got that?"

The woman, and Jiraiya, didn't mention that Itachi also had a part in it, but they didn't need to know.

The two just nodded as Jiraiya and Tsunade left, leaving Kakashi, Sasuke, Hikari, Nagato and Konan in the room. And an uncomfortable silence fell upon them.

After a while, Kakashi broke the silence, "So, you're the one behind the Akatsuki?"

Nagato nodded, "Yes, in a way. The two of us, along with a friend of mine, started the Akatsuki."

Sasuke chuckled, "I knew we'd meet eventually, but not like this. I thought it'd be a grand final battle where everyone fought to death."

Nagato chuckled, "Indeed... Thank you, Uchiha Sasuke."

The young Uchiha blinked, "You know my name?"

Konan smiled, "Well, your brother worked with us. It's because of him, that Orochimaru didn't go after you for so long, until after the Chunnin Exams. I believe the snake is still hiding somewhere."

That was news to Sasuke. The young man was surprised, "What?"

Nagato nodded, "Orochimaru was a member of the Akatsuki once, and even then he was already interested in you. Itachi would threaten him to not target you."

Sasuke was confused, "But... Why?"

The elder Uzumaki shrugged, "I don't know. Hell, after you all killed Sasori, Deidara, Kakuzu and Hidan, I rarely see Itachi and Kisame anymore."

Konan nodded, "Who knows what they're doing now..."

Hikari glanced at Sasuke before she slapped his back, "Hey, we'll find him. Beat the crap out of him, and see what he has to say, got it?"

The Uchiha breathed in and out before he nodded, "Yeah."

Then, Hikari heard Kurama's voice, "Hey, Hikari, bump fists with your cousin, I wanna talk to him, privately."

The girl raised and eyebrow before she glanced at Nagato, "Hey, Nagato. Kurama wants to talk."

Nagato tilted his head, "Kurama?"

Hikari nodded, "The Kyuubi, now bump fists with me."

Nagato was confused, but he did so anyways.

Then all of a sudden, he was standing on a vast green plain, and surprisingly, he could see.

Nagato marvelled at how beautiful and peaceful a simple field could be. He then turned to see the Kyuubi staring at him.

The Uzumaki said, "So, you're the Kyuubi."

Kurama hmph'd, "Exactly. You and I are going to have a talk, fleshbag."

Nagato nodded, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

Kurama pointed at his eyes, which were black, "Your eyes. I saw it in Amegakure. That man, he said your Rinnegan was transplanted."

Nagato nodded, "Yes."

Kurama stroke his chin, "Hmm, that make sense. You _are_ an Uzumaki, that makes you a descendant of the old man. You would have only inherited his chakra and body, not eyes."

Nagato blinked, "What do you mean?"

The bijuu looked at the man, "The Uzumaki are descendants of Otsutsuki Asura, a son of the Rikudo Sennin. The son who inherited his chakra and body. Not his eyes. That means you would not have the Rinnegan."

Kurama leaned in, "Tell me, have you met any Uchiha in your past?"

Nagato frowned as he thought. Wait, there was once he met an old man, a very very old man. The Uzumaki's eyes snapped open, "Yes. I remember, there was an old man. Now I think back, everything blacked out after I met him. And he seemed like an Uchiha."

Kurama nodded, "Then you probably got your eyes from him. Also, I sense Hashirama and Madara's chakra in you. Its faint, but its there."

The Uzumaki blinked, "What?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "Yeah. It means physically, you are the closest thing to the Rikudo Sennin, PHYSICALLY."

Nagato was surprised, well not much, since he did wield the Rinnegan. The Kyuubi then continued, "But, your actions disgust me. Tell me, do you know what would happen if you managed to get all of us?"

Nagato nodded, "Yes. We'd revive the Juubi, and we'd use it to instill fear in everyone, stopping all the wars."

Kurama slammed his hand onto the ground, surprising Nagato, "IDIOT! THE JUUBI IS UNCONTROLLABLE! Once you revive it, it destroy EVERYTHING!"

The bijuu stared at him in the eye, "I'm sure you remember what happened when you summoned the Gedo Mazo."

Nagato's eyes widened, he remembered. He went berserk the first time he used it. And he destroyed everything around him.

Kurama nodded, "That's what would happen when you revive the Juubi. But, you won't be able to stop it. The Gedo Mazo only has a quarter of its original powers. The rest were dispersed into us nine Bijuu. If you can't control the Gedo Mazo on your first try, then you will never control the Juubi. "

Nagato's eyes widened as he realised just how much he'd fuck up if he did succeed.

Kurama sighed, "Whatever. Like Tsunade, I still don't trust you. But I trust in Hikari, who trusts you."

Nagato nodded, "Thank you."

The Kyuubi huffed, "Hmph, don't get used to it. Now, on to the next matter. I can ignite Hashirama and Madara's chakra in you, and you will get the Rinnegan back. But you won't be able to summon the Gedo Mazo, your body won't be able to handle the strain."

Nagato nodded, "I see."

Kurama then asked, "So, do you want it?"

The Uzumaki nodded, "Yeah. This time, I'll use it for my family, and to find true peace."

Kurama smirked, "Good answer, maybe there is hope in you. Now get out, you'll have your Rinnegan when you get out of that bed."

Without waiting for a response, Kurama flicked a boulder at Nagato and sent him out.

Then everything around the elder Uzumaki turned black, and he felt the bandage appear on his head. Then he heard Hikari say, "So, what did he want?"

Nagato replied, "He just wanted to talk about my previous motives. That's all."

Hikari nodded, "I see. Then I'll be going, I still need to find the others. I'll bring them over next time, okay?"

Nagato nodded, to be honest he already knew who she meant, but decided it would be better to meet under better circumstances.

Kakashi and Sasuke also headed for the door, the cyclops said, "Well, I'd say it was a pleasure meeting you, but we still have stuff to do."

Sasuke nodded in agreement before they left.

Then, before Hikari left, the girl turned to the two, "Oh, and Konan-san, if you want to, you can sleep at my place later for the night. I'm sure the others won't mind."

Konan just nodded as she left. After a while, Konan commented, "Quite the cousin you have there."

Nagato chuckled, "I suppose. But, we were lucky, ya know?"

Konan nodded, she knew that technically they were in enemy territory. They had destroyed a huge part of the village, even if Nagato had tried to reduce casualties, hell, he even revived those he killed.

But that didn't excuse their actions. Yet, Hikari had decided to give them a chance, to repent, to do things in a better way.

If Jiraiya, Tsunade, Sasuke, Kakashi and Hikari could accept them. Even after everything they had done, then maybe true peace was possible after all. And Nagato and Konan would help them at every step.

XXX

Done. So, Nagato and Konan officially join Konoha. So, that's the end of the Pein arc. Oh, and I know Nagato was a bit ooc, but unlike canon, he totally lost here. He couldn't even get one Bijuu, after everything he had done. So I think snapping would be perfectly normal.

So, from now on, we'll be focusing more on Kirito, back to the original MC of focus. And we will be going more into the SAO elements.

So the next chapter will be finishing up the loose ends here and there, and then we'll be entering the Aincrad arc.

And just so anyone is wondering, I will kill off Danzo before the Aincrad arc ends.


	47. Chapter 47

Hey. This is the 47th chapter.

So, yes, I will have Nagato pair up with Konan, that's definitely gonna be done. And Sasuke will fight Itachi sooner or later, along with dealing with Tobi... Most prob after the Aincrad arc.

And just a note, I won't include all 100 floors of Aincrad. Some, if not most of the floors, will be cleared off screen, like in the anime/novel. But I will include the important ones, namely the first, maybe second and third, and of course GleamsEyes and the 75th floor. Of course, also the 100th floor.

So yeah, here's the 47th chapter.

XXX

The next day, as Konan was in Nagato's ward with Tsunade checking over his state of health, the door opened as an old man with bandages over his head walked in.

The man stared at Nagato with a frowned, "Hmph, so this is the so called leader of the Akatsuki."

Tsunade frowned and turned to the old warhawk, "What do you want, Danzo?"

Danzo stared at the Hokage with a frown, "What I want? No, the question is, what do you want?"

Tsunade fully faced him, frowning. Danzo continued, walking to Nagato's bed, "Bringing in the leader of the Akatsuki, who is not only a known terrorist organisation, but had also attacked _our_ village, in an attempt to secure _our_ weapons. It makes me question your competence as Hokage."

Tsunade and Konan glared at him, the last Senju said in a calm but dangerous manner, "I believe your source of information is outdated. Nagato is no longer part of the Akatsuki, it has been disbanded. And he has sworn loyalty to us."

Well, loyatly to Konan, Jiraiya and Hikari, mostly, but since Jiraiya was loyal to Konoha, and as long as Konoha didn't threaten Hikari and her family, then they were all loyal to the village. But Danzo didn't need to know that.

Danzo raised an eyebrow, "How can you be so sure? How do you know it isn't a ploy to catch you off guard?"

The one that answered wasn't Tsunade, but a younger female voice, "Because he is my family."

Danzo turned and frowned as he saw Hikari, Kirito, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon at the door. The warhawk spoke, "Family? If I'm not mistaken, just two days ago, he was your enemy, one who sought to kill you."

Hikari replied sternly, "That's right. But we've come to an understanding, not everything is solved through violence."

The old man chuckled, "That just shows how... naive you are."

Kirito stepped in, "If that's she says, then that's what it is."

Danzo stared at Kirito, and the two stared at each other, neither backing down. The old warhawk was impressed to be frank, now he knew what Hiruzen meant.

If anything, anyone, threatened any of the girls he cared for, Kirito would not hesitate to draw his blade at them. And just now, Danzo had all but threatened Nagato, and by extension, Hikari.

And if he made any move against any of them in the room, Danzo had no doubts he would not leave the room alive, regardless of his status as an elder.

The warhawk put on a smile, "I see. Very well, I'll take my leave then. Have a _nice_ day."

The old man walked out, none of them bothering to stop him. Kirito glanced out at the old man as he walked away, wary of him. He'd have to take extra caution from now on.

The swordsman didn't know what Danzo would do, but he was Hiruzen's teammate, and he'd have to be at least as crafty as the late Sandaime. That meant he would do anything if it meant obtaining what he wanted. That included assassination.

Then he was cut off from his musings by Sinon's voice, "Kirito-kun, you coming in?"

The blacksmith nodded and walked in to the room. He glanced at Konan, who seemed perfectly relaxed, before he looked at Nagato, who still had bandages on his head.

Kirito spoke, "So, you're the main one behind those Rinnegan users..."

Nagato nodded, "Yes, I suppose it's a pleasure to meet you face to face, Kirito."

The swordsman nodded. He was still wary of him, just a few days ago Nagato and Konan were all hunting the Bijuu, yet now they were here. And all his girlfriends were hosts for four of the remaining five bijuu not sealed in the Gedo Mazo.

The girls noticed Kirito's wary and stern stare and Suguha elbowed him in the ribs, "Kirito-kun, be nice."

The blacksmith winced as he rubbed that part, "Fine, fine."

The young man turned to Nagato, "I'll say this here and now. Uzumaki Nagato, I don't trust you one bit. But, if the girls say you are trust worthy, then I will just have to accept it."

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he glanced at Konan, "But know this, show any sign of hurting any of them, any way, be it physically or mentally, I will not hesitate to end you."

The girls all were surprised at his words. But Nagato and Konan, even Tsunade weren't all that surprised.

The elder Uzumaki nodded, "Of course. But, I assure you, I won't. Hikari is my last living blood relative, and she's shown me that there are better ways in achieving my goal. I won't betray her so easily."

Kirito let a small smile appear on his face, "Then we're good."

Everyone smiled, relieved that it didn't escalate into something worse.

Asuna then asked, "So, are you two staying in Konoha now?"

Konan nodded, "Yes. The Akatsuki is over. Kisame and Itachi are both missing anyways. But unfortunately, Tobi is still going on with gathering the bijuu."

Suguha grinned, "Then, apart from having you two with us, nothing has really changed then."

Nagato nodded, "I see."

The Uzumaki then asked, "By the way, Hokage-sama, if it is okay with you, can we join your ranks?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "Hmm? What brought this up? I thought you wanted to achieve peace?"

Nagato nodded, "Yes. It should be easier for that way, if I were to work with Jiraiya-sensei. Of course, I will work for you, but, I won't take on missions that disrupt peace."

The Senju considered the option for a while. Well, the Hokage would never issue any orders that'd disrupt peace. If anything, she preferred peace.

Tsunade nodded, "Very well. After you are discharged, I'll see to it that you join our ranks. But, you will have to go through a probation period."

Nagato nodded. It was necessary if he looked at it from her perspective. Here was an enemy, who could easily destroy the village, offering to join them. Suspicion, Hikari and Jiraiya's personal beliefs aside, were inevitable.

Hikari then looked at Kirito, "By the way, Kirito-kun, after Nagato gets discharged, can they stay with us? I mean, Konan can't stay in the hotel forever."

Kirito's first reaction was to refuse. But he saw Asuna, Suguha and Sinon looking at him. He sighed and nodded, "Fine."

The girls smiled at him as Nagato said, "Thank you."

Kirito sighed, "Sure..."

Tsunade then looked over Nagato's records again, "Hmm, anyways, looking at your records, I'd say you can see after three days. But I'd suggest you not strain your eyes, also, not to strain your body. As of now, your body is capable of operating at Chunnin level. Anything above that will strain your body."

Nagato nodded, "Then, I can take these bandages off in three days?"

The bandages didn't really bother him. He could roughly sense chakra signatures, which told him who was in the room and so on. But he wouldn't deny that it'd be nice to see again.

Tsunade nodded, "According to the records we have now, and considering the Uzumaki healing factor, I'd say yes."

The Hokage put away the records and walked towards the door, "Well, that's all I have for today. I'll have other doctors and nurses check on you later."

Nagato and Konan nodded in gratitude to the Hokage. Tsunade the added before she left, "Also, be wary of Danzo, at least for these few days. I won't put it past him to do something stupid."

With that said, the Hokage left the room, giving instructions to the doctors and nurses as she headed back to her office, leaving the others as they talked about what happened in the village.

As Tsunade walked, she glanced at the repairs of the village. The last Senju was thankful for Tenzo, one of Danzo's operatives, one of Kakashi's friends, and more importantly, one of _her_ loyal Anbu.

With Danzo's approval, not that she needed it, though appearances must be kept, Tenzo had helped with the repairs, using his Mokuton to build new buildings and repair the damaged buildings in the village.

The woman's thoughts then turned to Tobi. Jiraiya was on a mission to gather info on the masked man, hence he wasn't in the village. Back to Tobi, that man was a dangerous individual.

No one knew who he was, they only knew that he wanted to gather the Bijuu. Hell, no one even knew why he did that. Not even Nagato knew, the Uzumaki had only accepted his help because it could help his goal for peace.

The Hokage sighed as she decided to leave that for later. Now she had to focus on the village repairs.

Meanwhile, in Sora no Kuni, Kayaba was walking in the ruins of a temple. The man looked at the walls and thought, 'Hmm, I can work with these.'

He started to pull out a scroll from his pocket, but put it back in before he spoke, "Come out."

A man with long black curly hair walked out, frowning at him, "You, you're the one who killed my men?"

Kayaba raised an eyebrow, "Hmm? Ah, you meant the army of thugs that were gathering outside just now?"

When he reached the ruins, Kayaba saw an army of ninja in front of the temple, all wearing headbands for Sora no Kuni. Knowing Sora no Kuni's history with Konoha, Kayaba had wasted no time in taking out all of them, leaving none alive.

Now, Kayaba stared at the black haired man. He was obviously their leader, and he was livid. The man growled, "You are gonna pay for that."

Kayaba chuckled lightly, "How much? I'm sorry, but I don't have any cash with me. Though if you want, I could go to the bank."

The man growled, "Don't fuck with me! I spent years finding my fellow survivors, and even managed to get new people to join us... You... You took that all away!"

The master swordsman tilted his head, ready to draw his blade at any moment, "So? What will you do after you revive Sora no Kuni? Attack Konoha again?"

The man smirked, "Of course! Konoha is but a former shell of what it was. BUT, with the power of the ruins of my country, we can destroy that wretched village!"

Kayaba sighed, "And that's why I can't let that happen. Of course, you wouldn't destroy Konoha any normal day. But, Konoha suffered quite some losses from the Akatsuki attack just a few days ago."

The man smirked, "Exactly."

The swordsman sighed and took out his sword and shield, "Unfortunately, that means I'll have to kill you. Besides, I also need the ruins, I didn't put all those seals there for no reason."

The man's eyes widened, "That was you?"

After he left Konoha, Kayaba had went to the ruins of Sora no Kuni, placing seals all over the ruins day by day, or at least, week by week. And throughout the time, the survivors of Sora no Kuni had discovered the seals, but couldn't remove them, so they just left them there.

They had no idea that the ruins were already in Kayaba's hands. The swordsman sighed, "Whatever, let's hurry up and finish this. I _am_ a busy man."

The man sneered, "I'd like to see you try."

Kayaba smiled, unsealing his armor onto his body. It was red all over, with a white cape behind him. The swordsman drew his sword, "So, I'm curious, what is your name?"

The man leered at him, "Shinno, and you will pay for killing my men."

Kayaba smirked and charged, taking on a red hue as he did. Shinno's eyes widened in surprise as the armored man suddenly appeared in front of him.

The last survivor of Sora no Kuni jumped back as Kayaba swung his sword, leaving a small cut on the man's cheek.

Shinno was surprised. He was absolutely sure the armor was incredibly heavy, and even if Kayaba could bear the weight, there was absolutely no way he could move that fast.

Sadly, the last survivor of Sora no Kuni had never heard of the Acceleration skill.

Kayaba smirked and charged, spinning as he swung his blade at Shinno. The black haired man ducked and dodged it, "Hmph, is that all you g-"

He was cut off as he saw the shield moving towards him. Shinno's eyes widened as the shield slammed into his gut, sending him flying straight into one of the broken pillars.

The black haired man groaned in pain as he struggled to get up. That one single blow from the shield had definitely broken several of his ribs, and damn it hurt like hell.

Kayaba slowly walked towards the man, slowly taking his time. Shinno glared at him, hatred burning in his eyes. Well, Kayaba couldn't blame him. To have managed to gather so many men, Shinno would have needed at least two years. Yet he had killed all of them in less than two hours. Well, not that it mattered anymore.

As the swordsman raised his sword, Shinno's eyes widened, fear replacing hatred before he raised his palm and said quickly, "Wait! You said you wanted to use the ruins too, right?! Let's work together! We can achieve your goal and I can destroy Konoha!"

The swordsman was amused, and he chuckled, "Work with you?"

Shinno nodded, "Yeah! I know these ruins better than anyone! There's something sealed under the throne! We can use that!"

Kayaba raised an eyebrow, "Hmm? So, what is that... thing?"

Shinno answered, "The Reibi! A bijuu we have sealed in the ruins! We can use it to power the ruins, to make it our fortress!"

Truth to be told, Kayaba already had a source of energy. One of the reasons he placed so many seals on the ruins was to gradually gather nature chakra to power the ruins, though not too much to avoid damaging the surroundings.

But the Reibi. He had heard of it in the past. It was said to be a being composed of hatred, sadness, envy and all other negative emotions. It was also said to be a being composed of nature chakra. A false bijuu.

Kayaba had seen many things in his life. But he wouldn't deny that it caught his interest. The man pointed the tip of his sword at Shinno, "Show me."

The last survivor of Sora no Kuni nodded frantically and got up, "Follow me."

They walked past the ruins and slowly reached a large hall. In the middle was a huge circle with seals on it. Kayaba commented, "So, this is the seal holding the Reibi?"

Shinno nodded as he walked towards the seal. He knelt down and pressed his palm on the seal, "Its a being we sealed away years ago."

Shinno then sent a burst of chakra in the seal and turned, smirking at Kayaba, "And its the thing that will devour you!"

The seal exploded with chakra behind Shinno, revealing a leech-like being wearing a white Noh mask with the kanji for zero on it.

Kayaba raised an eyebrow at the leech. It certainly felt like a bijuu, yet at the same time, not. He could also feel the amount of negative emotions oozing out of the creature. That showed just how much negativity it held.

Shinno roared, "Come! Reibi!"

The false bijuu roared and shot upwards before it charged straight down, slamming into the man, creating a shock wave in the process.

Kayaba just raised his shield to block it as he stood there. Well, he couldn't say he didn't expect that. He was actually expecting Shinno to turn and attempt to kill him as they walked.

Soon, the Reibi was totally absorbed into Shinno, and the leech had vanished, revealing Shinno. But the man was different. He now had huge muscles, gaining quite some height. His chakra reserves had also sky-rocketed.

Kayaba let a small smile appear on his face, 'Hmph, Kirito could probably kill him easily. But whatever, this should be good for a warm-up.'

The man brandished his sword and charged. Shinno smirked and followed suit, raising his fist as he swung it at Kayaba.

The punch slammed into the shield. But then that was it. The shield stopped the punch easily, with Kayaba standing still right after Shinno punched him.

The swordsman peeked over his shield, "Is that it?"

Shinno could only stare in shock as he tried to push against the shield, to no avail. Kayaba sighed, "I guess I expected too much."

Then without warning, Kayaba spun and slammed his shield into the man's gut again, causing him to spit out saliva as Shinno was once again sent flying away, this time into a wall.

The swordsman sighed, "So, a massive power up from a false bijuu, probably with one tails worth of chakra. Yet all you could do, was punch with greater strength. I'm disappointed."

Shinno growled as he stood up. The he roared as he charged, 'Don't UNDERESTIMATE ME! "

Kayaba just raised his shield again, allowing Shinno to punch it, this time causing Kayaba to slide back slightly. The swordsman sighed, "Trust me, I'm not."

Kayaba easily pushed the man away before he took a stance, "I suppose it's time to end this."

The blade glowed, and Kayaba charged, swinging his blade. Then Shinno knew no more, as his head fell to the ground, blood shooting out from the neck like a fountain.

Kayaba sheathed his blade and sealed away his shield and sword, walking away, "Well, that's one thing out of the way."

He looked at the walls around him, "Hmm, I suppose its time to finish things up."

The man took out a scroll with the label for 'Aincrad' on it, then he walked out of the halls.

A few days later, back in Konoha, Nagato had been discharged from the hospital. As Kurama promised, he had regained his Rinnegan. But he didn't have access to the original Sharingan anymore, to Sasuke's surprise.

For Nagato, he had black eyes, and he could activate the Rinnegan like a normal dojutsu, unlike previously where he had it active 24/7. Apparently that was also one of the reasons his body was so weak.

Now, Nagato's body could operate at Chunnin level, so he still had to undergo rehab until he returned to his orginal state. Tsunade had given him and Konan the rank of Jounin, under probation of course. But she had, as a doctor, forbid him from taking missions higher than B-ranks.

Nagato and Konan had also moved into to the Namikaze compound. Considering that they were just enemies a few days ago, the two former Akatsuki members were quite thankful for Hikari and her sisters.

While everyone else, including Kirito, were wary of them, the four girls, including Fuu, had decided to accept them as comrades, or in Hikari's case, family.

Now, as Hikari and the girls were showing Nagato and Konan around, along with buying groceries, Kirito, Kakashi and Sasuke were in Agil's cafe.

The three were sitting by the bar as Agil placed one cup of coffee and two cups of tea on the counter. Agil said, "Hey Kirito, I heard, that Nagato guy is living with you."

Kirito sighed as he took a sip from his coffee, "Yeah."

Agil asked, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

The swordsman shrugged, "No idea. But, the girls seem to be okay with it. And the bijuu seem to have no qualms with them. So I suppose they're good, for now."

Kakashi nodded, "That's true. If those two were up to something, the bijuu wouldn't stay idle."

Sasuke nodded, "And if they do something to them, well, Kirito won't just stay still, right?"

Kirito smirked, "Damn right."

Agil chuckled as he cleaned a cup, "By the way, Sasuke, how's it going with that Sakura girl?"

The Uchiha spluttered, "W-what are you talking about?!"

Kirito and Kakashi laughed, the cyclops said, "Don't try to hide it. I've seen you glance at her lately when you think no one is looking."

Kirito grinned, "We're all men here. There's nothing wrong with saying it."

Sasuke sighed as he drank his tea, "Fine... Yes, Sakura has been growing quite strong lately... So, I suppose she _has_ my attention..."

Kakashi eye-smiled, "Now, was that so hard?"

Sasuke glared at his teacher, "Don't push it."

The man just raised both arms in a surrendering manner, "Hey, can't blame me for being curious. You two _are_ my students after all."

Kirito chuckled before he asked, "So, when are you gonna ask her out?"

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed, "Maybe next Monday or so..."

Agil sighed as he saw Kirito and Kakashi ready to push the Uchiha again before he said, "Alright, let's just stop teasing the emo about his love life."

The two just chuckled and decided to cut the Uchiha some slack.

Agil then said, "By the way, Kirito, this is something one of my friends found. They couldn't use it, something about their chakra not working or something."

He brought out a scroll with the kanjis 投影, 'Projection' on it, "I thought maybe you could use it or something."

Kirito raised an eyebrow and took the scroll, "Toei, projection..."

He opened the scroll and his eyes widened, "This is... Using chakra to project anything from your mind?"

Agil nodded, "Yeah, I suppose it's similar to what Hikari does with her chains. But strangely, the chakra needed is miniscule, yet the amount of control you need is enormous. It might be one of those sword skills you use."

Kakashi hmm'd, "I'd say its worth a try, Kirito."

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah."

The swordsman sighed, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try."

He then looked at the scroll, "So, first, form an image in your mind. Then, focus your chakra in your body, preferably in the same shape as the object in mind. Third, expel the chakra, keeping the shape in mind. Saying the words 'Trace, on' can help."

Kirito frowned, "Okay, so three simple steps."

He focused, thinking of an image to choose. The young man nodded to himself as an image of the Lambant Light appeared in his mind. Then, he focused his chakra, forming the shape of the rapier in himself.

He held out his arm instinctively and expelled his chakra, saying as he did, "Trace, on!"

The three men yelped in surprise as a perfect copy of Asuna's rapier appeared in Kirito's outstretched hand.

Agil blinked, "It worked..."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, and it didn't take a lot of chakra, around one middle tier sword skill."

Sasuke commented, "Considering you fight with swords, this can be a huge advantage for you. Let's say someone finds a way to disarm you, you don't need to worry about the lack of a weapon."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah."

Kakashi then thought aloud, "I wonder if you can use this, like, conjure up swords around you, then fire them like missiles..."

Kirito blinked, "Wait..."

He began thinking of possibilities, "That might actually work..."

Agil chuckled, "Just save that for later, I don't want my shop to be damaged because of you summoning a bunch of swords at the same time."

Kirito blinked before he nodded, "Eh... Sure."

Kakashi then patted Kirito's shoulder, "How about we go try it out now?"

Kirito's grin was the only answer he needed. Agil just sighed, "Battle freaks..."

A while later, after finishing their drinks, Kirito, Kakashi and Sasuke were in a random training ground, the pair of student and teacher staring at the swordsman.

However, this time, Kirito wasn't using his swords, instead, bare handed. Sasuke asked, "Are you ready, Kirito?"

The young blacksmith smirked, "Yeah."

Kakashi chuckled and pulled up his headband, revealing his Sharingan as Sasuke activated his dojutsu. Without another warning, the two Sharingan users charged.

Kirito kept his smirk as he jumped away to avoid two slashes. He landed and said, "Trace, on."

Immediately, a copy of Suguha's katana appeared in his hands and he raised it just in time to block Sasuke's chokuto. He then pushed Sasuke away, "Trace, on."

The young swordsman quickly turned, grabbing a copy of the Kubikiribocho from the air as he blocked a slash from Kakashi's White Light Chakra Saber.

Kakashi's eyes widened, "Oh, Zabuza's sword?"

Kirito smirked as he swung the Tempest downwards, only to miss as Kakashi jumped away. Kirito cursed as he heard the familiar sound of the Chidori.

Not missing a beat, the blacksmith turned and threw the Kubikiribocho horizontally, the blade spinning like a massive throwing knife as it shot towards Sasuke.

The Uchiha's eyes widened as he quickly slid onto the floor, the blade barely missing his nose as he did. Doing so had broke his concentration, and it dispelled his Chidori. At the same time, everyone noticed one thing. As the copy of the Kubikiribocho reached a tree, it dispersed into nothingness.

Kakashi commented, "Hmm, it seems the things you project cannot be maintained forever. The items you make are only temporary."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, it seems so."

Sasuke grunted as he stood up, "Even so, that's still a very useful technique."

Kakashi nodded, "That's true. So, shall we continue?"

No words were needed as Kirito charged, "Trace, on."

Immediately, a copy of Sasuke's chokuto appeared in his hands as he clashed blades with the original blade. Kirito frowned slightly as he parried Sasuke's blade away, "It seems my projections are slightly lower in terms of quality."

Kakashi said as he came down with a slash, "Well, it's to be expected. In the end its still a copy made of chakra."

Kirito quickly raised Suguha's katana and blocked the slash. Then he slashed with the chokuto, only to miss as Kakashi jumped away.

Kirito then had an idea, something Kakashi mentioned earlier, 'I wonder...'

The young man then started to form an image in his head, or rather, several images, all at once.

He opened his eyes and said, "Trace, on."

Immediately, seven swords appeared around him, the Elucidator, the Dark Repulsor, the Lambant Light, the Tempest, Sasuke's chokuto, the Kubikiribocho and Kayaba's sword, the Liberator.

Unknown to them, Kirito's eyes briefly glowed yellow and his mark pulsed. Then, Kirito swung his right arm, unleashing a roar as all seven blades shot forward.

The two Sharingan users' eyes widened as they quickly jumped away, using their Sharingan to keep track of where the blades were going.

After a while of chasing the two with his swords, Kirito dispelled all seven swords and took a breather.

This gave Sasuke a chance as he quickly formed a Chidori in his hand, then he thrust his arm forward, "Chidori Eiso!"

The Chidori spear shot towards the swordsman. Kirito groaned and quickly formed a copy of the Elucidator and brought it in front of him, flicking the blade so it would spin as he used his chakra to maintain the rotation, "Spinning Shield!"

Normally, using a sword as a shield against a lightning attack was suicide. But Kayaba had taught Kirito how to use his chakra to insulate electricity, at least when he used the Spinning Shield.

The two Sharingan users' eyes widened as the spear struck the spinning sword. And to their surprise, the spear actually split away, striking the ground behind Kirito.

Sasuke let go of the Chidori as Kirito stood there, rather surprised that his projection of his sword actually withstood that.

Kakashi said, "Well, that clears up just how strong your projections can be. Do you guys want to continue?"

Kirito let out a breath and chuckled, "No, I think that's enough for today. I'm quite tired from making so many swords in one go."

Sasuke nodded, "I see."

Kakashi pulled down his headband and eye-smiled, "Well then, let's go back."

The two younger black haired men nodded as the three headed back to the central parts of the village.

Meanwhile, in Sora no Kuni, the ruins started to rumble, floating as they slowly moved closer to each other, seals glowing on every single cluster of the ruins.

Then the seals glowed again, and the cluster of the ruins slammed into each other, forming a huge clump of rock. Then, the glow intensified, causing the rock to slowly rearrange itself, forming a huge cone structure.

Inside the structure, at the top, Kayaba smiled as he looked at his final project, "Finally, its finished..."

He looked out from the castle and smiled, easily noticing Konohagakure, "Now, it's time to see how the five villages will react. More importantly, how you will react, Kirito."

XXX

Done. So, Kirito has learned Projection. Kayaba killed the remainibg survivors of Sora no Kuni, instead, using the ruins to make Aincrad.

So, this is the official start of the SAO part of this story. Review please.

On a side note, I know I said the Itachi fight will probably come after the Aincrad arc, but I was wondering if you guys would want that to be done _inside_ Aincrad. I could make that work actually.

So yeah, until the next chapter.


	48. Chapter 48

Hey. This is the 48th chapter.

To **Guest** , as of now, I'm not sure if I'll do lemons here. Even if I do, it will be only one lemon for each girl. Or something like that.

Just a note, Aincrad here will be considerably smaller, or at least, the bottom parts. The first floor won't be as large as canon, instead, it will be the village, and the dungeon where the boss is. The other floors will be the same, a village and the dungeon.

Another thing, if you search Aincrad, the images will show the bottom to be a bit messy, like roots. Here, instead of that, it will be replaced by an exhaust shape object. Just imagine Aincrad smoothing out at the bottom, forming something similar to an inverted rocket exhaust.

So yeah, just wanted to point that out. Also, I'll probably do the Itachi fight in Aincrad, we'll see how it goes.

XXX

Inside Aincrad, more specifically the castle on the 100th floor, Kayaba looked out over the Elemental Nations, 'I suppose its time.'

The man walked over to a control panel that managed most of Aincrad's functions. Kayaba glanced at the panel and channelled chakra into it.

It was times like this that he was glad he had studied technology from all across the Elemental Nations. The man had managed to use the parts he found in the ruins to build a control panel to control everything inside Aincrad, which included limiting the chakra output of visitors, and even seal Bijuu. And of course, projecting a hologram, be it inside or outside the structure.

Kayaba chuckled, he knew just how strong the girls with Kirito were. He couldn't just simply let them win, nor could he let the Jinchurikii do all the work. It'd defeat the purpose of this very castle. Hence, he used everything he knew, seals, technology etc, to make sure Aincrad would limit all the shinobi to some extent, if not entirely, especially the Jinchurikii.

The man had also made sure the structure would be able to withstand at least a thousand S-ranked Jutsu, he couldn't risk the villages destroying the structure from outside, which they will definitely do once he revealed his 'plans'.

On a side note, he had also placed many disruption seals all around the structure, to prevent seal masters, especially Hikari, Jiraiya and Kirito, from undoing the seals on Aincrad. If they do find a way, the sheer number of the seals would take them at least a year to undo them, and he wasn't going to give them that time.

Kayaba let out a breath, then he started.

Earlier, in Konoha, and just about every other village, everyone didn't fail to notice the massive structure rising into the air.

Tsunade and Jiraiya looked out of the window from the Hokage's office and saw the structure.

The Hokage commented, "So, he's starting."

The sage nodded, "Yeah."

The Senju sighed, "I suppose I'll have to prepare to call for a Kage's summit then. What that man's planning isn't something we alone, even with almost all of the remaining Bijuu with us, can beat."

Jiraiya nodded, "You go and do that."

Tsunade just nodded, "Enough, he's starting."

The structure, being high enough, and in the perfect position to be noticed by all five villages, formed five holograms of Kayaba Akihiko, all facing each of the shinobi villages.

Then the figures spoke in one voice, "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Kayaba Akihiko. Now, I'm pretty sure you're all wondering, what is this massive structure."

The man chuckled, "I want to play a game with all of, leaders of your respective villages. Konohagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure and Iwagakure. This structure is called Aincrad, and to put simply, this is a doomsday device."

Kayaba paused a bit, before he continue, "Now, I'm pretty sure some of you are thinking, it's definitely a bluff. To prove it, I'll show you the power of this Aincrad."

The floating structure started to move, until it was directly above a small village. Then, at the bottom of the structure, a sphere of chakra started to form. Then it shot straight down, slamming into the center of the village.

Immediately, the village was reduced to nothing. A large crater in the place of the small village.

Kayaba chuckled, he could feel the anger from everyone for doing that, he wondered what Kirito's expression was like now. Then he continued, "Just now, this Aincrad just destroyed a small village. You are all welcome to send scouts to confirm it."

The man then said, "Now, that was just but a fraction of what this structure can really do. If I really went in with everything, then I suppose the main continent of the Elemental Nations would cease to exist."

Kayaba paused again before he continued, "Oh, and don't bother destroying the structure from the outside. I've made sure it can withstand at least a thousand S-ranked jutsu. Though, you're all free to try, especially you, Onoki."

Kayaba cleared his throat before he said, "Now, back to the game I mentioned. This Aincrad has 100 floors. In each floor, is a small village and a dungeon. Inside the each of the dungeons are beasts I managed to summon from the summon realms."

He let out a breath and continued, "Your job is to clear the 100th floor, and to do that, you have to clear every floor, starting from the first floor, which will give you access to the second, and so on so forth."

The master blacksmith then smiled, "Now, you have six months to clear all 100th floors. If not, then I will destroy the world. The Five Kage and samurai from Tetsu no Kuni, or any other forces, are also not allowed to enter the structure, I can see everything in Aincrad, and if even one of you set foot in it, I will immediately destroy the world."

Kayaba's grin widened, "Now, each village is allowed to send a hundred members to clear the dungeons. Like I said, one person more than 100, or anyone not from the five major shinobi villages, I will destroy the world."

He then snapped his fingers, causing five objects to shoot out from the top of Aincrad, "I've sent entry points to Aincrad to each of your villages. There will be the same objects inside Aincrad, to allow you to enter and exit the structure as you please, as well as proceed to higher floors."

Kayaba smiled again, "Though, as I said, six months from today, to clear 100 floors."

His smile dropped and he finished, "That is all I have to say. I will be watching your every move, do keep me entertained. Have a good day."

With that said, the holograms vanished, leaving Aincrad floating in the air.

Back in Konoha, outside Kirito's shop, the blacksmith was shocked. Hell, he was already surprised when he heard his teacher's voice boom through the area, just a while after he finished training with Kakashi and Sasuke.

What came next when he went out of his shop was not anything he expected.

Kirito blinked in shocked, "What the fuck is he doing?"

Klein, who had followed him out, patted his shoulder, "Don't worry too much, you'll just have to ask him when you see him."

Agil nodded, having came out of his shop when he heard Kayaba's voice, actually everyone had came out to the streets when they heard his announcement, "Yeah. That bastard probably has some reason to do that."

Kirito frowned, "No, I'll ask him now."

Without waiting for a response, Kirito vanished in a glow of red. Agil sighed, "What are you doing, Kayaba..."

The bald man turned to Klein, "I'll take care of the shop. Go get Hikari and the other girls."

Klein saluted as he took off, "Aye sir."

With Kirito, he ran past the gates before something caught his eye outside the gates. The young man quickly stopped and walked to the object.

It looked like a tomb, with four small pillar-like objects surrounding it. Then Kirito remembered Kayaba had said something about entry points outside the villages.

He walked to it and stepped on the platform. Nothing happened. Frowning, he channelled chakra into the object, then it glowed... And everything turned white.

Kirito grunted as he shielded his eyes from the bright light. Then the light died down, revealing a huge town area.

Kirito frowned as he stepped down from the platform, "Where is this?"

The young man walked around, noting the shops that were void of people. Kirito frowned, stopping at the center of the area before he yelled, "Kayaba-sensei!"

On the top floor, Kayaba chuckled in amusement as he saw his student enter the first floor. He let out a breath and channelled chakra into the console.

With Kirito, his eyes widened as Kayaba suddenly appeared in front of him. The elder swordsman smiled, "Hey, Kirito. So, you're the first one to enter."

Kirito asked, ignoring his teacher's words, "What is this?! What are you doing?!"

Kayaba continued to smile, "This is a game, Kirito, with everyone in this world. I've already stated the rules, haven't I?"

Kirito glared at his teacher, "I don't understand! Why are you of all people doing this?!"

Kayaba's smile vanished and he took a step forward, "I will destroy this world, Kirito. This world, where your family lives in. I will destroy everyone, and everything in it."

Kirito's eyes widened at his words before Kayaba continued, "What will do, Kirito? Will you let me do as I please, and let those four girls die, or will you kill me?"

Kirito gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists. Then he punched the man, or at least, tried to. Kirito's eyes widened as his fist just phased through Kayaba's body.

The younger man quickly regained his footing as he turned and backed away, "What the hell..."

Kayaba chuckled, "A hologram, Kirito. In this castle, I control everything, I see everything. You don't think I'd be so stupid to meet you in person, did you? Not after my announcement."

Kirito glared at him, "So, after you left, you were building this?"

The man smiled, "Yes. My greatest project to date."

The man then stared at Kirito, and his tone turned cold, "I've said enough. Unfortunately, this is where we part ways. From this day on, you are no longer my student."

Kirito's eyes widened at Kayaba's words before the man snapped his fingers, as six creatures appeared, "A final gift, Kirito. These are Kobolds, creatures I found during my trip."

He then smirked, "If you want answers, well, I'll be waiting on the hundredth floor."

With that said, the hologram vanished, leaving Kirito alone with the creatures. Then, before Kirito could ponder about Kayaba's words, six creatures surrounded him.

The creatures looked like dogs, yet they were humanoid and wore armor, wielding hammers. Kirito didn't need anyone to tell him that they were hostile.

He gritted his teeth. Nothing about this made sense. Kayaba just wasn't someone who'd do something like this. Kirito growled and drew his swords and charged.

The first Kobold roared and swung its hammer at him. But Kirito easily saw it coming and parried away with the Elucidator.

He then slid past the first Kobold and swung his blades at another one, the two blades easily slicing the creature into pieces. Kirito then noticed he was standing right in the middle of the other five Kobolds.

He gripped his swords and charged them with chakra. Then he spun, "END REVOLVER!"

The sword skill easily killed all other five Kobolds, leaving Kirito standing there alone. Then, to his surprise, the Kobolds burst into light, quickly dispersing into the air.

Letting out a breath, Kirito looked around. He was still alone in the village, and there were no signs of any more enemies.

Then, Sinon's voice reached his ears, "Kirito-kun!"

The young man turned to see Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha running to him, with Yugao, Sasuke and Kakashi behind them.

Suguha asked as they reached him, "Are you okay?"

Asuna nodded, "Klein-san said you rushed in after Akihiko-san finished his announcement."

Hikari and Sinon both looked at him in worry, and Kirito also noticed the others' worried gazes at him.

Kirito shook his head, "No, I'm fine."

Kakashi said, "We should leave. Who knows what he has in store here..."

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah, we need more information before we come in again."

Kirito sighed, "Got it... Sorry for worrying you guys."

Yugao smiled, "It's okay. But, this doesn't feel like a floor. But then, this Aincrad is massive..."

Kakashi nodded, "Let's go, we should tell Hokage-sama about this."

No one objected as they started to walk to the teleportation gate. As they walked, Kirito stared at the backs of his four girls, and Kayaba's words rang in his ears, ' _I will destroy this world, Kirito. This world, where your family lives in. I will destroy everyone, and everything in it_.'

He tightened his grip around his swords, 'If he's going to destroy the world, then I'll stop him. As his student...'

He then quickly followed the others, leaving through the gate.

Meanwhile, on the 100th floor, Kayaba smiled as he watched his student leave Aincrad. He thought aloud, "You aren't my student anymore, Kirito, you can't be my student forever. You must surpass me, for everything you love."

(line break)

Three days later, Tsunade had called for a Kage Summit at Tetsu no Kuni. Gaara had immediately accept, with Ay and Mei accepting after thinking it over. Onoki, on the other hand, had needed persuasion from Kurotsuchi.

Now, Tsunade, Hikari, Kirito and Jiraiya were at the entrance to the building they were using for the summit, the latter three there as Tsunade's guards.

For safety reasons, Mifune, the leader of Tetsu no Kuni, had declared that they wouldn't have any Anbu in the country during the summit. None of the Kage disagreed.

So Tsunade chose her most trusted friend Jiraiya, her god-daughter, Hikari, and Kirito, one of the stronger fighters she had. All three capable of fighting off S-ranked or Kage level enemies without difficulties.

Tsunade would have brought Kakashi, but then her team would be overpowered, and they'd be able to take down an army if they went all out. Well, not that they couldn't with the team she had now. Kirito was at least equal to Kakashi in terms of capabilities, if Tsunade was to be honest. But then, Kirito was not as well known as Kakashi was.

As they reached the entrance, they were greeted by Mifune. The samurai said, "Welcome, Hokage-dono. I hope your trip here was pleasant."

Tsunade smiled as she folded her arms, "Yes, it was uneventful. Thank you for letting us have the summit here, Mifune-dono."

The others just kept quiet as the old man chuckled, "Well, considering our country is the only truly neutral one, I suppose it's to be expected."

His tone then turned serious, "But this is no small matter, with Kayaba Akihiko and his... Aincrad."

Tsunade nodded, claiming to destroy the world was not a simple thing, especially when you did it in front of the whole world.

A loud voice reached their ears, "Hmph, he does have the guts, I'll give him that."

They turned to see the Raikage with Killer B and Darui with him. Hikari greeted, "Raikage-sama, Bee-san."

Ay smirked, "Hey, Hikari, Hokage-dono, Jiraiya."

Tsunade ignored the fact that Ay had greeted Hikari first. Well, the Raikage probably had more respect for the younger blonde, since she had learned, if not mastered, the Hiraishin. To the man, speed mattered a lot.

Killer Bee approached his fellow Jinchurikii and was about to say something when Hikari glared at him, "Start rapping again and I swear I will take away what makes you a man."

Bee sweat-dropped and raised his arms in a surrendering manner, "Okay, okay, I won't... Bakayaro, Konoyaro."

Hikari just grew a tick mark before she took a deep breath, "Well, whatever... Its good to see you again, Bee-san. Sorry for what happened to Yugito-san."

Ay hmph'd, "What's done is done. Besides, it's not your fault. Its the Akatsuki."

Hikari nodded, "Thank you. And about the Akatsuki, there's something I should tell you, but that can wait until after the meeting."

Ay raised an eyebrow before he nodded, "Sure."

Hikari then said, pulling Kirito to them, "Oh, and this is Kirito-kun. He's the one I mentioned before."

Ay stared at the black swordsman, "Hmm, so, you're the one. Hikari claims that you can match my speed."

Kirito glanced at Hikari, who just grinned, before he turned back to Ay with a forced smile, "Erm, I don't think I can..."

The Raikage smirked, "Nonsense! If she says you can, then I'm pretty sure you would be able to. So, after this meeting, we're going to have a spar!"

Ay patted Kirito's shoulder before he left to talk with Tsunade and Jiraiya. And by pat, it was a rather strong smack that made Kirito stumble a bit. Hikari smiled innocently at Kirito, "Like I said, he's weird, definitely a muscle idiot, but he's a good guy."

The swordsman glared at his girlfriend lightly, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Hikari just kept her smile, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Another voice spoke, catching their attention, "It's been a while, Kirito."

The swordsman turned and blinked in surprise to see Zabuza, "Zabuza?"

The man grinned behind his mask as Kirito asked, "What are you doing here?"

Zabuza pointed his thumb at Mei who was talking with Jiraiya, Tsunade and Ay, "I went back to Kirigakure a while after what happened in Nami no Kuni. The Mizukage was kind enough to bring me back in, so here I am."

Ao hmph'd, "Back in my day, we wouldn't give people like you a second thought. Especially cowards who run away from the frontlines."

Zabuza just ignored the man and said, noticing Kirito's headband on his forearm, "So, you're also part of Konoha now."

Kirito chuckled, "Well, I can't really fight if I'm a civilian, right?"

The wielder of the Kubikiribocho smirked, "True. Besides, you still owe me a spar. After so long, I want to see if you've gotten better or not."

The man then pulled a younger man to them, "Chojuro! This is the guy I told you about, Kirito is a skilled swordsman, and he dual wields like you do."

Chojuro yelped as Zabuza pulled him over. The young man looked at Kirito and bowed slightly, "Erm, my name is Choujuro, nice to meet you, Kirito-san!"

Kirito forced a smile, "Well, you don't have to be so stiff. You're around my age, right?"

Choujuro rose from his bow and nodded, "Yes, thank you very much. I've heard a lot about you from Zabuza-senpai."

Before they could continue, a grumpy voice rang through the area, "I came here thinking we would have a Kages meeting, but all I see are children chatting around. What is this? A play date?"

Everyone turned to see Onoki with Kurotsuchi, Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi. Before anyone replied, a male voice replied, "Then wouldn't you be a child as well, considering you're here, Tsuchikage?"

They turned to see Gaara with Temari and Kankuro. Onoki stared at the young Kazekage, "Hmph, I don't want to hear it from you."

Gaara let a small smirk appear on his face, "Well, you're the one who answered me."

The old Tsuchikage saw red and would have blown up right there if it wasn't for Kitsuchi, Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi holding him back.

Gaara ignored the old fart and nodded to the others in respect.

Then, Mifune spoke up, "So, everyone is here. Let's go in, now, shall we?"

No one objected, and they quickly entered the building, following Mifune to a meeting room where all of the Five Kage took a seat, with their respective escorts standing behind them.

Mifune glanced around and nodded, "Place your Kage hats on the table."

The five leaders complied, placing the symbols of their positions on the table. Mifune announced, "I am Mifune, and I will preside over these proceedings. Let the Five Kage Summit begin!"

Tsunade nodded and spoke, "Then, I'll start. We all saw that announcement from Kayaba Akihiko a few days ago, right?"

The Raikage, Mizukage and Kazekage nodded, but Onoki said, "Before that, I believe there is something we should talk about."

Everyone glanced at him, and the Tsuchikage stared at Tsunade, Hikari and Kirito, "If I remember correctly, Kayaba Akihiko used to live in Konohagakure, am I wrong?"

Tsunade nodded, "That's right. Kayaba Akihiko used to be a blacksmith in our village, but, years ago, he left the village. He's a civilian, so leaving was his right. After that, I, and the village, had no contact with him."

Onoki narrowed his eyes, "Fine, but even if we ignore that, there is something else that I cannot ignore. It has come to my attention that Konoha has almost all of the remaining Bijuu with them. The Niibi, Sanbi, Nanabi, and the Kyuubi."

He looked at all the people present straight in the eye, "Isn't it obvious that Konoha is gathering too much power?! And with Aincrad, isn't it obvious Konoha is at fault?!"

Gaara sighed, "Now here's where I have to disagree. If you were just accusing them of the issue with Aincrad, I would have agreed with you. But, when it comes to the Bijuu, you're wrong."

Onoki turned and stared at the Kazekage, "Pray tell, how so?"

Gaara stared at Hikari in the eye before he said, "Konohagakure is the only village to have taken action actively, in stopping the Akatsuki, when they were gathering the Bijuu."

Onoki narrowed his eyes, "What are you getting at?"

Gaara stared at Onoki, "Yes, Konoha has almost all of the Bijuu with them, the last one being the Hachibi, sealed in Killer Bee, from Kumogakure. But, every Bijuu with Konoha is not there because they wanted power."

The Tsuchikage was about to say something when Tsunade spoke up, "Well, as suspicious as it looks like, that's the case. The Akatsuki could not have the bijuu, so we did everything to keep them off their hands."

Onoki glared at her, "That's just an excuse! You are disrupting the power balance!"

Ay glared at Onoki, "That's where you're wrong, Onoki."

The Tsuchikage turned to the Raikage, "How am I wrong?"

The man spoke calmly, but the anger was evident in his voice, "The Jinchurikii and the Bijuu are not weapons. They are living beings, like all of us here. If you want to talk about power balance, then that never existed in the first place."

Onoki narrowed his eyes again, "What are you talking about?"

Ay didn't reply, instead, Mei did, "If you think about it now, there never was a balance. True, all of our villages at least had a Bijuu at that time. But, if you look at everything else, Konoha and Kumo were always stronger. In fact, this doesn't really change anything."

Gaara nodded, "Exactly, and I actually support the fact that Konoha houses most of the remaining Bijuu. Now, that is the safest place for the Bijuu."

Onoki glared at Tsunade, "Then why is it that I've received intel that the leader of the Akatsuki is currently residing in Konoha?!"

Tsunade glanced at Hikari and the Namikaze stepped forward, "As you all should know, the leader of the Akatsuki, Pein, attacked our village. We managed to defeat him, and I went to Amegakure."

Hikari smiled innocently, which sent shivers down everyone's spine, "We had a nice talk, and turns out Pein is an Uzumaki like I am. So I managed to convince him to join us and disband the Akatsuki."

The Uzumaki looked at Ay and Gaara, "I was actually planning on telling you guys after the meeting , but someone beat me to it."

Onoki glared at the girl, "So housing an S-ranked terrorist is not a crime?!"

Hikari turned to look at him, "I won't deny that. But, Nagato wanted to change, so as fellow Uzumaki, I gave him a chance."

Onoki was about to blow when Tsunade spoke up, "Well, needless to say, housing an S-ranked nuke nin is not acceptable. But, last I checked, there is no Uzumaki Nagato in the Bingo Book."

The Tsuchikage was about to say something else when Mei said, "Well, if you look at it that way, then it should be fine. But, are you really sure he isn't acting just to get the Bijuu?"

Tsunade nodded, "First off, the Akatsuki isn't just gathering the Bijuu for power. If they wanted power, then the Rinnegan would be enough."

Gaara and Ay nodded, already knowing where this was going. But Mei and Onoki were confused. The old man grumbled, "So, what more would you need the Bijuu for, other than as weapons?"

His words ticked off Ay, Gaara and just about everyone else in the room except for his escorts, Mei, Choujuro and Zabuza.

Tsunade sighed and looked at Hikari, who nodded and answered, "The Juubi. When you gather all the nine Bijuu and seal them into the Gedo Mazo, a statue only accessible with the Rinnegan, the Juubi can be revived."

Onoki huffed, "So, in the end it's just for another Bijuu?"

Ay stared at him, "Don't be mistaken. The Juubi is a combination of all nine Bijuu, and it is stronger than all of them combined. If they succeeded, then they could end the world any time."

Mei then said, "Well, speaking off ending the world, shouldn't we be discussing about Aincrad? We only have six months."

Onoki glared at her, "This is more important than that, we don't even know if its a bluff!"

Ay sighed, "If you continue, then this will eventually lead to war, do you know that, Onoki?"

The Tsuchikage glared at him, "Are you saying we can't beat them?"

Gaara shook his head and said, "No, Raikage-dono isn't just saying it. If you start a war with them, then Iwagakure won't exist after that."

Onoki turned to the Kazekage, "What do you mean?!"

Gaara pointed to Tsunade, Hikari, Ay, Killer Bee and himself, "Now, Sunagakure is in an alliance with Konoha. You pick a fight with them, then we'll fight against you. And I'm pretty sure Ay-dono would rather die than fight alongside you."

Ay nodded, "Hikari never does anything without reason. If she brought the leader of the Akatsuki into Konoha, then she would definitely have a damn good reason to do it."

The Raikage then glared at him, "Besides, from the start, you've been saying that Bijuu, and by extension, the Jinchurikii are weapons. My brother is one of them."

The Mizukage decided to speak up as well, "Well, if you do go to war, then apologies, Tsuchikage-dono, even if my village does join, it won't be on your side. Zabuza seems fond of several Konoha ninja, and we were already planning on forming an alliance with them anyways, if Hokage-dono accepts of course. "

Onoki just gritted his teeth and calmed himself down. Tsunade let out a breath and hid a smirk. She didn't need to do anything and the other villages were already pushing Onoki down. The woman was glad she brought Hikari with her.

The woman said, "I do hope this doesn't lead to war, Tsuchikage-dono. There are more things at stake now."

Onoki just gritted his teeth before he said, "Fine. So, what do you want to do?"

Tsunade smiled, "Well, earlier, I thought it'd be good to do some recon. So I sent some of my Anbu to check the place out."

Mei smiled, "Same here."

Ay and Gaara both nodded and they said respectively, "Yeah, I did the same too. / Same."

Onoki closed his eyes, calming himself before he nodded, "I also sent some of my Anbu to scout out the place earlier."

Tsunade nodded, "Then I suppose you all know that our chakra and abilities are suppressed inside Aincrad."

Ay let out a breath, "Though, it'd seem that only chakra is suppressed. In fact, my Anbu said that it was cut down by half, but the chakra would return faster than normal."

Gaara nodded, "It also seems that if you defeat the monsters, or creatures, living there, you'd obtaina form of currency. And my Anbu found that those money could be used in the village to buy items and food, even weapons. There also seem to be a drink that restores chakra."

Mei sighed, "One of my teams found a rather large room, I suppose it's where the huge summon Kayaba spoke of is. Of course, I ordered them not to engage it. We have no idea what are its abilities after all."

Tsunade sighed, "100 floors, 6 months. It'd mean we would have to clear one floor every two days at least. And we're already three days behind."

Onoki huffed, "We don't even know if he's bluffing."

Mei shook her head, "No, you saw how that Aincrad destroyed a small village in one blow. Even if it wasn't a fraction of its full power, it'd still do serious damage to our villages, and by extension, the world. Do you want to risk that?"

Onoki just wisely shut up before Gaara asked, "So, what should we do now?"

Ay grunted, "Hmph, since we're in a rush, I say we get started now, send 100 troops from each of our villages and quickly take care of this creature."

Tsunade took a glance at Kirito, noting his determined face. Well, at least he wasn't going to be like how Sasuke was, or at least, she hoped. The Hokage turned back to face the other leaders and nodded, "Then let's do it. Tomorrow, we send 100 ninja each and they raid the boss."

XXX

DONE. So, this is the official start of the Aincrad arc. Now, as I said earlier, I won't do every floor. The first floor, the 74th and 75th floor, and the 100th floor are definitely in.

Also, apart from the 1st, 74th, 75th and 100th floors, I won't be following the other floors' bosses exactly, as in, let's say for the 10th floor, if I do it, I won't necessarily use Kagachi the Samurai Lord, maybe I'll use the Fatal Scythe or something.

So yeah, the next chapter will be the first boss raid. After that I'll see how it goes. Do tell me if you want any of the floors to be shown here.

Until the next chapter. Review please.


	49. Chapter 49

So, this is the 49th chapter. Now, I know what I'm gonna do in the Aincrad arc won't sit well with a lot of people.

I'm changing a quite a bit of the Aincrad arc. Hell, I already changed a lot when I actually had Kayaba build Aincrad instead of using VR, which is just using the ruins of Sora no Kuni as a base.

Now, if you're expecting something high tech, like in the actual SAO, then this isn't it. I feel like I should have said this in the first chapter, maybe I did... But **THERE WILL NOT BE A NERVE GEAR, NO AMUSPHERE AND NO STL.**

And to **Just4213,** please don't compare this story to the actual SAO. This story pales in comparison to the original. And the Kirito here is different from canon Kirito. The character developments are entirely different.

Here, this Kirito grew up as an orphan, with only the four girls with him. Hence everything he does will be to protect and support them.

Canon Kirito grew up as an adopted child, and he closed off himself to games. After the SAO Event, only then did he start to socialise again.

This Kirito is OOC. He's not the same as canon Kirito.

Another thing, a lot might not make sense now, but everything that happens after the Bijuu arc is linked to the Underworld arc, a lot will be explained there. Hell, unlike canon, Aincrad here is also a build up for the Oberon arc and the Underworld arc.

So yeah, and I'll prob not be doing the Progressive, if at all. If I do, it will be in a separate story, as there are simply too much material to work with. So I'll jump floors here.

Anyways, here's the next chapter.

XXX

The next day, all the five Kage had gathered 100 of their best ninja, and they were all standing in front of their respective gates to Aincrad.

Needless to say, none of the leaders were going in. Konoha's forces were led by Jiraiya, Suna's forces led by Kankuro, Kiri's forces led by Zabuza, Kumo's forces led by Killer Bee, and Iwa's forces led by Kitsuchi.

From each of the villages' Anbu, they had managed to find out that the creature they were up againts was a huge Kobold, Illfang the Kobold Lord, though the Anbu didn't engage the boss as they knew nothing about it.

At the Konoha, Jiraiya turned and looked at the 100 troops, or rather, 99, which included Kirito, team Yugao, team Kakashi, team Gai, team Kurenai, team Asuma and several other Jounin with their teams.

The toad sage nodded to Tsunade who was overlooking them from the balcony of the Hokage Tower. The Hokage nodded, silently telling her friend to continue.

Jiraiya looked at the 99 ninja in front of him, "I'll only say this once, so listen up! Once we enter Aincrad, we'll enter unknown territory. As you know, we only have six months to clear all 100 floors. So we must clear at least a floor every two days."

The man let out a breath before he continued, "Today, and most likely every day, we will send 100 ninjas into Aincrad, to scout out the place and clear the floor. Now, we'll be aiming for the boss of this floor, Illfang the Kobold Lord."

He stared at all of them, "I know almost all of you don't know what we're up against, so stay calm, and don't freak out. Most importantly, come back alive."

Jiraiya paused a while before he finished, "We'll be entering now, stay sharp."

He turned to the teleport gate and held out his arm onto the platform, then he channelled his chakra into the object.

In a flash of blue, all 100 men/women vanished, the only evidence that they were ever there were the blue particles that lingered around the area before dispersing.

On the first floor of Aincrad, the 100 Konoha ninja appeared in front of the teleport gate. Kirito opened his eyes to see the village.

The swordsman glanced around and saw that apart from Konoha ninja, there were other ninja from the other four hidden villages.

He then looked up at the sky, or rather, the ceiling. He had no idea how, but the ceiling looked just like the sky. Kirito then turned and looked at the massive pillar, the dungeon which held the summon they were supposed to defeat.

He was broken out of his musings when he heard Suguha's voice, "Kirito-kun, let's go."

Kirito turned, nodding as he quickly followed them towards the pillar.

The group quickly reached the dungeon, and they wasted no time in moving towards the boss room. Just like the Anbu that were sent to scout the area, the army of 500 ninjas were assaulted by many creatures, mainly boars and Kobolds. The army didn't even break a sweat as they marched towards the boss room.

Jiraiya glanced to Kankuro, Zabuza, Kitsuchi and Killer Bee, "So, who wants to do it?"

Zabuza shrugged, "Meh, you're the one with the most experience when it comes to war, you do it."

Kankuro and Kitsuchi nodded. Killer Bee just grinned and gave the sage a thumbs up.

Jiraiya sighed as he muttered, "This isn't really a war though..."

The man turned and said loudly, "Okay, listen up! We'll be entering the boss room now. We'll be up against something similar to a summon, or a Bijuu! And as you all know, our abilities are heavily restricted! So, I don't know how this fight will go, and I want you to stay focused, look for any weaknesses and relay it to everyone. Got that?"

The remaining 495 ninjas all either nodded or voiced their agreement before Jiraiya turned. The sage nodded to the four and he pushed open the door.

As the door opened, the 500 ninjas were met with a rather dark hall. They slowly, warily walked in. Jiraiya said quietly, "Spread out, keep an eye out for any enemies."

No one objected as they quickly filled the hall, looking around for any enemies. Then, as soon as the last person entered the room, the door slammed shut, drawing everyone's attention.

Then the room lit up, the lights on the pillars, along with the ceiling, lit up. Then it appeared.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a massive Kobold landed on the floor, shaking the entire area as it roared, drawing its shield and axe in the process.

Kirito narrowed his eyes, 'So that's Illfang, the Kobold Lord...'

His eyes landed on the massive sword behind its waist. It didn't seem like a decoration, so they had to be careful.

Then he heard Jiraiya yell, "Hikari, now!"

The girl nodded and glanced to her sisters, "Let's go."

Asuna and Sinon nodded and they charged forward with Hikari. Then they jumped.

But to everyone's surprise, the three girls just landed on the ground, with shocked expressions. Hikari thought, 'What's going on, Kurama?'

The Bijuu growled, "Fuinjutsu, I can't send my chakra out."

From the faces of Asuna and Sinon, Hikari knew they were facing a similar case, so were Suguha and Fuu, as they couldn't even access the chakra cloak.

But then the girls' eyes widened as the massive Kobold was right in front of them, and their short pause had given it a chance.

Zabuza yelled, "Move, now!"

The three quickly jumped away just in time as Illfang slammed it's axe on the ground.

Kirito asked as Hikari, Asuna and Sinon landed beside him, "What's wrong?"

Asuna frowned, "There are seals, they're blocking Matatabi and the others' chakra from coming out."

Sinon sighed, "It can't be helped, we'll have to fight as we are now."

Hikari nodded, "Let's go with senjutsu then."

As they focused to gather nature chakra, they heard Jiraiya yell, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

The summoning seal appeared on the ground but nothing happened after that. In fact, the seal just disappeared. The sage stared at the ground in shock, "What the..."

He quickly jumped away just the Kobold swung its axe again.

Kakashi frowned, "It seems summonings and bijuu chakra won't work... I guess we should've expected it, this is Kayaba we're up againts."

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah, I also can't maintain my Mangekyou for more than a minute here."

Hikari and the girls also frowned, Suguha said, "Same with senjutsu..."

Hikari frowned and looked around, "How? Seals?"

Kurama nodded from his seal, "Most probably, but I don't sense any seals."

Sinon sighed, "I suppose we'll just have to fight as we are now..."

Asuna nodded as they turned to face the boss.

As for Kirito, he frowned as he could hear many other shinobi saying that their jutsu wouldn't work, mostly summonings and sure-kill jutsu.

The swordsman thought, 'So he won't make it so easy for us...'

He was then brought out of his thoughts by Kitsuchi's voice, "Everyone! Use ninjutsu!"

Everyone agreed and they flashed through handseals, "Katon/Suiton/Fuuton/Doton/Raiton!"

Kirito followed suit with a fire spell, and 500 attacks of different elements shot towards the Kobold lord.

The boss roared as it saw the attacks coming. Then, it raised its shield, and with a roar, Illfang slammed the shield onto the ground, creating a shockwave that dispelled all the attacks.

Jiraiya tch'd and charged forward, a Rasengan forming in his hand, "Hikari, Kakashi!"

The two immediately knew what he wanted. Hikari yelled, "Guys, cover us!"

No one objected, as everyone started to fire attacks at the boss, which only served to annoy it. Then, Kakashi, Jiraiya and Hikari leaped up, all three with a Rasengan in their hands.

Then they all yelled in unison, "RASENGAN!"

Illfang roared as it raised its shield to block the attack. And for a moment, the shield held strong against the three attacks.

Then the shield broke, the three Rasengans slamming into the beast, sending it flying to the back of the hall.

The three landed, and a random Kumo ninja thought aloud, "Did we get it?"

His answer came in the form of a roar, as Illfang knelt there, glaring at the 500 ninjas.

Then, to everyone's surprise, around the bijuu sized Kobold, three hundred armoured Kobolds appeared, all roaring as they charged the army of 500 ninjas.

Killer Bee yelled, "Get ready, fools! Ya fools!"

As the Kobold roared, the two armies clashed with one or two ninja fighting a Kobold each.

As everyone fought, the Kobold Lord slowly regained its footing. With Kirito, he swiftly dodged the sentry's hammer before he spun, slashing at the Kobold's neck.

But to his surprise, the blade only left a deep gash, but the head stayed on the Kobold's body. Kirito jumped back to avoid the hammer again, 'So they have heightened durability as well... Dammit..'

He glanced around and saw everyone was having difficulty dealing with the Kobolds, and Kirito realized what was wrong.

Ninjas mostly relied on sure kill attacks, with most jutsus, even elemental ninjutsu like fireballs and water dragons, being sure to kill their enemies in one shot. The Rasengan, Chidori and Raikiri were no exception.

Against the Kobolds, who wore heavy armor, and possessed heightened durability, the ninja would be forced to beat the beasts repeatedly until they died, mostly relying on weapons seeing most of their jutsu did not work.

Kiruto cursed as he leaped back to dodge the sentry's hammer again. Then Kirito noticed the Kobold Lord getting to its feet, 'Damn it... I need to finish this now.'

He muttered silently, "Trace, on..."

Immediately, seven copies of the Dark Repulsor appeared around him. Then, on a mental command, the seven swords shot forward, stabbing into the Kobold sentry.

Kirito then charged, jumping up as he did, then he spun, coming down with his two swords, and sliced the Kobold sentry in half as the seven Dark Repulsors dispersed.

He glanced around and saw that mostly everyone had dealt with the Kobold sentries. But before they could regroup, a loud roar interrupted them.

Everyone turned to see Illfang jumping from the ground, boucing from pillar to pillar as it circled the ninjas with astounding speeds.

Neji frowned, "Such speed... For something of that size..."

Tenten nodded as her eyes darted around, trying to follow the beast, readying her weapons.

Back with Kirito, his eyes followed Illfang as an idea came to his mind, 'Ninjutsu didn't work... I wonder if normal weapons work...'

He turned to Hikari, "Hikari-chan, can you get me to it?"

The blonde blinked, "Erm, sure. Why?"

Kirito grinned, "I have a plan."

The last Namikaze nodded and threw a handful of kunai upwards. Then, as Illfang closed in to one of the pillars, Hikari said as she grabbed Kirito's shoulder, "Let's go."

In a flash of yellow, the two reappeared right in front of Illfang. Hikari glanced at Kirito briefly, "I hope you have a good plan."

The swordsman didn't reply her, instead, he simply extended his wings and shot forward. As he flew towards Illfang, he spoke, "Trace, on."

Six fuuma shuriken appeared along with seven copies of the Elucidator, flying towards the beast.

Illfang used its blade to parry away the shuriken, dispelling them in the process, but the blades just flew put of range before they shot towards it.

As the beast focused on trying to get rid of the projectiles, it failed to notice Kirito closing in.

The swordsman roared as he spun with a slash, leaving a deep gash on the Kobold's stomach. Illfang roared in pain as it turned its attention to Kirito, swinging its sword at him.

That was its mistake. As the blade closed in, Kirito spun horizontally and dodged the attack. Then he willed his swords to stab the beast, earning another roar of pain.

The other 499 ninjas just stared in shock as Kirito flew above the beast and sheathed his swords, pulling a large familiar zanbatou out of thin air.

Zabuza gaped as he looked at the sword in Kirito's hands, then to his own, "That's my sword."

Kirito grabbed the copy of the Kubikiribocho and swung it down hard. The slash left a deep gash on the Kobold Lord's back, and at the same time, sent the beast to the ground.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he saw a chance, "Now!"

Everyone got the message and immediately shot the strongest jutsu they could at the beast, consisting of different long ranged jutsu.

Then to add to the mix, Hikari sent a Rasenshuriken at Illfang, causing a huge explosion.

As the cloud covered the Kobold, silence filled the area as everyone stood there for a moment. Then, Sakura asked, "Did we get it?"

Kirito narrowed his eyes looking into the smoke before they widened as Illfang rushed out of the smoke, roaring as it charged the army.

Before anyone could react Kirito moved. He roared, coming down with the Elucidator and Dark Repulsor in reverse grip.

Then the two blades stabbed into the back of Illfangs's neck, earning a roar of pain from the beast as it tried to get Kirito off his back. But before it could reach the young man, Kirito took on a yellow hue, tapping into his mark as he yelled, "RELEASE RECOLLECTION!"

Then a bright white light blinded everyone, a loud roar of agony reaching everyone's ears.

After a while, the light died down, and everyone opened their eyes, looking towards where Illfanh previously was.

The boss was gone, in its place was Kirito, holding both his swords in reverse grip, blue particles floating around him, the only sign that Illfang ever existed.

Then, before anyone could say anything, they heard a tone as the words 'CONGRATULATIONS!' appeared in front and above them. (Final Fantasy Victory tone.)

Then they heard Kayaba's voice, "Congratulations on clearing the first floor. Everytime you clear a floor, you will have access to the next floor. But you have to activate it through the console in front of you. On a side note, if you don't activate the console after you defeat the boss, and if you leave, you'll have to fight the boss again to activate the console. Good luck, and do try to entertain me."

With that said, the 'CONGRATULATIONS' hologram faded, and in front of them, a smaller and simpler version of the teleport gate appeared.

Kirito let out a tired breath as he sheathed his swords. Suguha beamed at him as she approached him, "That was awesome, Kirito-kun! When did you learn to do that?"

The swordsman chuckled, "Well, since the time Hikari-chan beat up Sasuke, I just didn't had a chance to use it."

He then frowned, "Besides, I can't use that as often as I want."

Sinon spoke as she walked to them, "So, a finisher technique?"

Kirito nodded, "I suppose so, but it's more of a last resort to be specific."

Hikari just grinned, "Well, that doesn't change that you do have a strong attack. But you still have ways to go."

Kirito just sighed and shook his head as Sasuke patted his shoulder. The Uchiha chuckled, "Good luck man."

Kirito just sighed again as he said, "Come on. Let's not keep everyone waiting."

They nodded and turned to the others, who all had just finished resting from the fight.

Jiraiya nodded to Zabuza, Kitsuchi, Killer Bee and Kankuro before he turned to everyone, "Good job guys! We've cleared the 1st floor, now 99 more to go! Keep it up!"

Everyone just groaned, some chuckled as they stood up, but they did send Kirito a nod or a look of respect, since he did make the last hit.

Then to their surprise, each of them found a bag of money in their hands that seemingly appeared out of nowhere, along with other items such as daggers, hammers, swords and armor.

As everyone fiddled around with their loot, Zabuza approached Kirito, "Hey, Kirito, what was that?"

The younger swordsman blinked, "Eh? What?"

Zabuza pointed to his Kubikiribocho, "My sword, how did you get it?"

Kirito's eyes widened in realization, "Oh! You mean how I made a copy of your sword!"

Zabuza raised an eyebrow, "A copy?"

Kirito nodded as he projected a copy of the zanbatou again, "Its something I picked up a while ago. I can project whatever I can imagine, mostly swords. And since I had a very good impression of your sword, I can replicate it almost perfectly. Though, I'm pretty sure its inferior to the original."

Zabuza blinked several times before he nodded, "I see... So you can form copies of any sword you can think of, is that right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah."

The zanbatou user laughed, "Then we definitely have to spar some time, I wanna see if you're any good with that sword."

Kirito just smiled forcefully as he saw Hikari, Suguha, Asuna, Sinon, Sasuke and Kakashi give him thumbs up and encouraging smiles.

After a while of resting the 500 people went to activate the teleport gate. As Jiraiya activated the gate to the second floor, Kirito thought about the fight with Illfang, more specifically the part where he had Hikari use the Hiraishin to get him to Illfang, 'I suppose I should find a way to do it myself, it'd be a huge advantage if I can warp around.'

Meanwhile, on the hundredth floor, Kayaba smiled as he saw the army defeat Illfang. He had made it so that the seals in the boss rooms were stronger than outside. That made using jutsu and chakra harder than normal in Aincrad. Of course, he had also lessened the restraint on sword skills and spells.

The man thought, 'Not bad for the first floor. I look forward to what you can show me, Kirito.'

Days later, the five villages had cleared around 9 floors, clearing one floor per day, sometimes two floors, if they could find the dungeon for the boss.

Throughout the time they cleared the floors, they found that ninjutsu and especially genjutsu was useless. Sure, some elemental ninjutsu and other jutsu could work, but their intended effect was far lower than what it should be. Of course, that didn't mean that they didn't train in those departments, they just didn't use it in Aincrad.

Instead, they found that physical attacks, such as taijutsu, kenjutsu and bukijutsu in general were more effective. In fact, they found that most of the bosses used weapons.

The leaders of the squads also found that sending in all 100 members from their villages wasn't necessary, so they started sending in teams with smaller numbers, mostly 50 to 70 members.

Another reason for that was that sending in 100 ninjas wasn't practical. They had been lucky in the first floor, but after the second, they started having casualties. Granted, it wasn't heavy, mostly two to three deaths with injuries here and there, five deaths at most.

But that was enough to change plans, they couldn't afford to lose even one man every floor. Every boss seemed to possess at least one AOE attack, thus sending in large amount of troops only gave the bosses a larger target. Hence they reduced the number of people going in.

The leaders also decided while they could send Anbu in to scout the area, sending in normal shinobi was also a good idea, and it wasn't a bad thing either, as it did help finding the bosses.

So now, a small team from Kirigakure and Kumogakure were scouting the area.

Ever since they started clearing Aincrad's floors, the five villages had started to form somewhat of a truce. Okay, Onoki was still the grumpy old bastard that held on to old grudges, but that didn't matter.

The other four villages started having joint missions, mostly going into Aincrad. This was one of them.

From Kiri, the team consisted of Choujuro, two black haired jounin swordsmen named Sougo and Banjou, along with a young kunoichi named Ayano Keiko.

From Kumo, the team had Samui, Omoi, Karui and a brown haired girl named Lizbeth.

Now, Sougo and Banjou were glaring at Choujuro, Keiko and the Kumo ninja. The two men had disliked the fact that they had to work with Kumo of all people, and even worse, they had to have Choujuro of all people with them.

Now, if you're asking why they disliked Choujuro, well, it wasn't a secret that Mei favored Zabuza and Choujuro, so it wasn't that weird that they didn't like him, especially due to his shy nature. As for Keiko, she sided with Choujuro whenever they argued.

As they walked through the dungeons, Karui glared at them, "Hey, you two, you've been glaring at all of us for some time now. What's your problem?"

Bajou glared and looked down at the girl, "Damn right I do, you black bitch! Why do we have to work with Kumo bastards like you?!"

Karui glared harder, "What did you say?"

Keiko immediately got between them, "Please stop. We shouldn't be fighting her-"

She was cut off as Sougo shoved her to the ground, "You shut up! It's bad enough we have to work with these arrogant idiots!"

Liz glared at him as she helped Keiko up, "Hey! She's your teammate!"

Banjou smirked darkly, "Teammate my ass. She's always been pulling us back."

Samui stared at the two coldly, "Oi, shut it."

Banjou glared at her, "What are you gonna do about it? Report to the Raikage?"

Samui stare turned colder, "If need be, yes. And I'm pretty sure the Mizukage won't just stand still about this."

Sougo glared at the blonde, "You wanna fight?!"

Before they could reply, a familiar voice reached their ears, "Hey! What are you guys doing?"

Everyone turned to see Kirito walking to them. The swordsman had been scouting the area on his own, since Hikari and the others had decided to take a break from Aincrad and took a D rank mission in the village.

Sougo and Banjou knew who Kirito was. He had participated in almost all of the previous boss raids after all. In fact, Kirito was one of the more important members in raiding the bosses, aside from the Jinchurikii and stronger Jounin of course.

Regardless of how they felt, and even if they thought they could take on everyone here aside from Kirito, they knew well enough when to back away.

Sougo frowned, "No, nothing."

Banjou nodded as he glared at the others once more, "We'll go look for the room ourselves."

Sougo nodded before they stormed away. Kirito blinked before he yelled, "Hey! You don't need to look for it anymore!"

But his words fell on deaf ears as the two continued walking away, coincidentally moving towards the boss room, where Kirito came from.

Choujuro asked, "What did you mean, no need to look for it anymore?"

Kirito turned, "I just found it. I was going to report this to the five Kages."

Keiko blinked as she stared at him, "Erm, you're that guy who always came to fight the bosses, and the guy who killed Illfang, right?"

Kirito grinned, "Yeah, my name is Kirito."

Keiko nodded and bowed, "My name is Ayano Keiko. Nice to meet you, and thank you for helping us!"

Kirito chuckled and patted Choujuro on the back, "Well, even if I didn't, Choujuro would have handled it easily."

The young man just smiled forcefully, "Erm... I don't think so..."

Kirito laughed, "Well, of course you can. I've heard a lot of good things about you from Zabuza and Mizukage-sama."

Choujuro didn't reply, instead, he just wanted to shrink into his clothes, or hide behind his swords.

But before they could continue, Samui asked, "Excuse me, but shouldn't we go after them? I don't like them, but they still are part of this team. And reporting deaths of a team member is rather... Troublesome."

Kirito hmm'd and glanced at the direction where they were headed, "Well, that's where the summon is, and it looked like a ghost of a samurai or something. There's only one path and that is it. Though I don't think they'll be stupid enough to take that thing on themselves."

Keiko nodded before she said, "But I think we should go check on them."

Liz sighed and nodded in agreement, "Same. I don't like them, but leaving them to die isn't something I'd want."

Omoi nodded before he visibly shivered, "Oh crap, what if they really went and fight the boss? That'd lead to them getting killed, and it might even make the boss go on a rampage and charge out of the room and kill us too?"

Karui grew a tick mark and smack him over the head, making him drop his sucker, "Idiot! Its a known fact that the summons don't leave the room! Besides, they aren't stupid enough to fight it."

Choujuro shook his head as Omoi glared at the girl, "No, as reckless as they are, they might just challenge the summon."

Kirito considered the option. He had nothing to do, Klein could handle the shop just fine, if not he could always rely on Agil to help. Hikari, Suguha, Asuna and Sinon were out on D-ranked missions, along with Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura. And he didn't feel like looking for anyone else.

He nodded, "Okay then, let's get going."

No one objected, and they started moving towards the boss room.

The journey to the boss room was uneventful. Some monsters, which consisted of skeleton warriors, popped up, and the Kumo and Kiri ninja just easily took them down. Kirito didn't even need to touch his sword.

Soon, they almost reached the boss room, then they heard two screams.

Omoi looked at Karui, "See! I was right! Now get me another sucker!"

Karui was about to smack him again when Kirito said seriously, "Save it for later, we need to go now."

The two immediately straightened up as they started to run towards the boss room.

As they reached the door, it was already open, just as they expected, with the words 'Kagachi the Samurai Lord' beside the door.

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he went forward into the room, and his eyes widened slightly as he saw the two men on the floor, at the mercy of a Bijuu sized samurai.

Choujuro cursed, "IDIOTS!"

Without another word, the usually shy swordsman charged forward, Kirito following behind.

The others followed, a beat slower as they were surprised that Sougo and Banjou actually went and fought the boss summon.

Choujuro yelled as they charged, "Kirito-san, we'll take the boss' attention! The others, get those two out of here!"

Kirito grinned, "Okay!"

The others complied, as they quickly went to pull Banjou and Sougo out of the boss room, though because of their injuries, they couldn't do it so quickly, lest they risk worsening the wounds.

Kagachi roared at the two swordsman as it swung its blade down. Choujuro immediately raised his sword and blocked it, stopping it right on its tracks as Kirito leaped up.

The blacksmith thought, 'Let's try this, I've been working on this for a while now.'

He threw the Elucidator at the samurai lord. The boss just stared at the sword indifferently as the throw wouldn't leave a scratch. But then to everyone's surprise, Kirito vanished midair in a burst of blue particles, leaving a rough after image of himself made of the same blue particles.

Then he appeared right in front of the Elucidator. Kirito smirked and grabbed his sword and spun, striking the samurai and leaving a rather large crack on the mask.

Then he kicked the samurai's mask as he flipped backwards before he landed on the ground.

Kirito smirked as he jumped away to dodge the boss' blade, 'Nice, it worked!'

Choujuro gaped at him as Kirito landed beside him, "You can do the Hiraishin now?!"

The young man chuckled, "Not exactly. It's similar, but an entirely different thing."

That was partly true. With the Hiraishin, the user needed a marker before they ripped a hole in space and time, using the marker to appear right where they wanted to. It utilised space-time jutsu and a marker to direct the user to their destination.

For Kirito's warping technique, it utilitied his chakra and his swords as a beacon. Then, shrouding himself with the same chakra, he'd disperse into small particles and move to his sword at light speeds. His version also used time alteration that his Acceleration provided to move at quicker speeds, but the difference was that he wouldn't experience the change in time.

It wasn't like the Acceleration wasn't enough, but warping was useful in many ways. With the Acceleration, he was merely moving at very high speeds by slowing the time around and in him, but he'd still have to move normally.

With warping, he was basically teleporting, just like the Hiraishin, but with his swords instead of seals.

Kirito then glanced at Choujuro, "Hey, you wanna take this one? I think we can actually beat it on our own."

The younger swordsman blinked, "Are you sure?"

The blacksmith shrugged, "It won't hurt to try..."

The other swordsman shook his head, "Fine.. But if things look bad, we retreat, got it?"

Kirito grinned, "Okay, let's go!"

Choujuro sighed as they both charged. Kirito threw the Dark Repulsor at the boss summon before he glowed red and vanished in a burst blue particles, appearing in front of Kagachi's face.

The samurai froze in shock as the swordsman was suddenly at its face. Then Kirito spun and kicked it in the mask hard, sending it stumbling back.

Choujuro took the chance and charged forward, slicing the samurai at the legs, forcing it to kneel on the ground. He slid to a stop behind Kagachi before he glanced up and nodded to Kirito, who nodded back.

The blacksmith allowed himself to fall, extending his wings to smoothen his fall before he landed on the ground.

Then he glowed red and vanished in a burst of speed, projecting six Elucidators around him as he did. The swords started to slash and stab the samurai, causing it to roar in pain as it flailed wildly in an attempt to stop the blades, shooting beams of energy everywhere. But it was futile.

That gave Kirito and Choujuro the chance they needed. Choujuro gripped his sword, raising it up, and said, "Hiramekarei: Kaiho."

Kirito raised his swords and yelled, his body glowing yellow as he did, "Release Recollection!"

In that instant, the Hiramekarei unleashed a huge pillar of chakra from the hilt, forming a massive blade of pure chakra, while a huge pillar of light rose from the Elucidator and Dark Repulsor.

Then Kirito and Choujuro yelled as they swung their blades diagonally, intent on ending the boss summon.

The six copies of the Elucidator vanished, and only then did Kagachi realised its mistake. The samurai's eyes widened as the two massive blades sliced through its body cleanly, leaving a huge cross on its body.

Then the boss summon of the 10th floor vanished, dispersing into blue particles as the familiar words, 'Congratulations' appeared in front of them.

As the two swordsmen sheathed their blades, the others only looked from the side in awe. Sure, they had seen bosses go down faster than what they had just seen. But that was with more than a hundred men.

This was with only two men, and they cleared the floor with next to no effort.

Kirito and Choujuro walked to them and Keiko beamed at them, "THAT WAS AWESOME!"

Choujuro just smiled and scratched his head shyly while Kirito chuckled, "Thank you."

The rest just nodded in agreement and praised the two for killing a floor boss so easily. Then Kirito turned to Sougo and Banjou, "Why did you two fight it?"

Sougo and Banjou glared at the floor, not willing to look at Kirito. The blacksmith sighed, he could pretty much guess why. He then said, "Pride is a good thing, but don't bite off more than you can chew."

Having said that, Kirito turned to Choujuro without waiting for a reply, "Hey, you guys can activate the gate, right?"

Samui nodded, "Of course."

Kirito gave them a thumbs up, "Cool, I'll leave that to you guys then, I'm gonna go back and take a nap."

Without waiting for a reply, Kirito turned and left, leaving the two teams standing there, surprised by how nonchalant Kirito was about activating the gates.

After a while, Karui asked, "So, what are we waiting for?"

Everyone snapped out of their stupor before they quickly went to activate the gate.

XXX

Done. So, we have done the 1st and 10th floor. Now before anyone asks, I have no idea if Silica/Keiko and Liz will play any major roles in the future. I might just do what I did with Recon/Shinichi and have them be cameo characters.

Though to be honest I have no idea why Reki even included Silica and Liz in the first place, apart from filling Kirito's harem.

So yeah, until the next chapter. Review please.


	50. Chapter 50

Hey, here's the 50th chapter.

To **TheB** , yes, I know its a bit dumb. But let's just say they didn't expect their abilities to be restricted that much.

On a side note, yes, that's the warp from FFXV, I was replaying FFXV, and I always found Noctis' warp strike to be very cool, so... Why not use it here... XD

Thanks for your review, **Brin** , and well, I'm not too sure about the stuff before SAO became a light novel. But I've decided that Liz and Silica will have small roles here, they won't appear much.

And I also won't add Sachi or the Moonlit Black Cats. Their appearance was mainly to develop Kirito's character, and as **Brin** said, show how bad the death game is. Now that I think about it, even if they do appear here, they won't affect nor contribute to the plot much.

So I'll just have to see where things go. And if anyone has any ideas, please do tell me. I'm all for suggestions.

XXX

About a month had passed after Kirito and Choujuro defeated Kagachi on the 10th floor. News travelled fast, as almost everyone knew how Kirito and Choujuro defeated a boss summon.

That led to everyone working even harder, and they cleared up over 49 floors, and they were now at the 50th floor.

Over those few weeks, Kirito had found that Liz was also a blacksmith, and word of that had somehow reached Tenten's ears, and Liz had also found that Kirito and Tenten were blacksmiths.

That lead to their current situation. Given that Liz, Kirito and Tenten were practically the only blacksmiths in their current generation and among the people they knew, Liz and Tenten wanted a competition to see who was the best forger among them.

So the two girls had decided to meet up in Aincrad, more specifically, the 22nd floor. Kirito had initially tried to refuse, but word of these plans reached Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon, and the four girls decided it wouldn't hurt, and dragged their not-so-poor boyfriend to Aincrad.

Kirito sighed as he asked, "So... Why are we doing it here?"

Tenten looked at Kirito, "Well, my father won't let us use our forge, and the Liz can't come to Konoha without the Raikage's permission. So, this is the best place where we can meet up."

Liz nodded, "Besides, no one ever uses the forges here. Might as well just use them."

Kirito glanced to the door and saw Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon giving him thumbs up.

Kirito sighed again before he asked with annoyance evident in his voice, staring pointedly at the four girls at the door, "No... The question I should be asking is why are we even doing this in the first place?! Why so early?! It's freaking EIGHT in the MORNING!"

Hearing those words, the four girls at the door almost felt guilty. They knew Kirito didn't get much rest ever since Aincrad appeared. Keyword, ALMOST. So the girls just settled for innocent smiles that would fool anyone.

Tenten glared at the swordsman lightly, "We finally get a break from Aincrad, since other teams, and the Anbu teams are going in to scout the 50th floor, so its not like we'll have another chance for this."

Kirito leaned on the wall and tried hard not to facepalm, "We can always do this after six months."

The two girls ignored him as they started preparing the equipment. Kirito sighed, "Fine... Let's just get this over with."

After a few hours, the three blacksmiths were done, all having forged a normal katana each. Kirito let out a breath as he placed his sword on the table, followed by the two other blacksmiths.

He then looked at the two female blacksmiths, "So, how do you want to do this?"

Tenten replied, "It should be obvious, we look over each others' work, and we see who's the best."

Kirito sighed as Liz nodded in agreement, "Okay, fine."

The three wordlessly went through each others' work. Kirito had to admit, the two girls did an awesome job with their swords, especially since they were normal swords, he could see the degree of their skill easily.

Kirito also spotted the flaws in their swords, not bad enough to affect the user in battle, but if the enemy was a blacksmith like him, then the swords could break easily.

Of course, he wasn't as arrogant as to believe his sword was better than them, just different. Everyone had a different style of forging blades after all. Though since they were doing this, there was something he wanted to test.

The two girls also finished looking over all the swords. The two sighed and Tenten said in a defeated tone, "I give up. Kirito, you really are better than the both of us."

Liz nodded before she glared at Kirito determinedly, "I will definitely get better and surpass you!"

Kirito nodded as he picked up Liz's sword and his, "Sure... Now, I want to test the swords' durability and strength."

The two blinked and asked in unison, "Test it? How?"

Kirito didn't answer, instead, he held the sword he made horizontally, the flat facing up, and he raised Liz's katana, channeling a sword skill as the katana glowed.

The two girls' eyes widened as they tried to stop him, Liz yelled, "Wait! Your sword will-"

Kirito swung Liz's sword down, and struck the sword he forged, and a piece of metal flew out and stabbed itself on the wall.

"-break!"

The girl was shocked. The sword had broke off, but it wasn't Kirito's sword that broke off. It was hers. Everyone stared at the broken blade in surprise, but Kirito just hmm'd, "I guess the sword couldn't withstand the weight of holding a sword skill _and_ striking another sword..."

Kirito placed the broken sword down and walked to Tenten's sword. Liz brought the broken sword into her arms and fell to her knees as she whimpered, "M-my sword..."

The other girls just sweatdropped before Tenten noticed Kirito holding the sword she forged. The girl started to speak, "Ermm, Kirito... I don't think you need to-"

She was cut off as Kirito channelled a sword skill into Tenten's sword, then he swung. To his surprise, neither of the swords broke, instead, the swords just bounced off each other like normal.

Kirito nodded and handed Tenten her sword, "Nice sword, I give it an 8 out of 10."

The weapon mistress just gaped as she took her sword. Well, truth to be told, she had half expected Kirito to break her sword. The young man had been forging ever since they started the academy, and he had been working in his own shop two years before Hikari's batch graduated. That said a lot of his skill.

Kirito let out a breath and grinned, "Well, I suppose it was fun."

He patted the two girls' shoulder and walked to the door, "I'm going out for a walk."

As he walked to the door, he asked, "You girls wanna join me?"

Sinon glanced at the still sulking Liz and Tenten who was standing by the table still staring at her sword, "Erm... Sure, they should be fine alone, I guess..."

Asuna smiled, "I'm sure they'll be fine. It's a safe area here."

Suguha and Hikari nodded, the blonde said, "Let's go then."

(linebreak)

A few minutes later, the five were walking around in a forest (park?). Suguha jokingly said, "Hey, you think we'll see any spirits here?"

Sinon blinked before she smiled, "Spirits? Don't you mean ghosts?"

At the mention of ghosts, Asuna jumped, "Ghosts?! What?! How?! Where?!"

Hikari and Kirito laughed, the blonde said, "They're just joking, Asuna-chan. There shouldn't be any ghosts."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, and I don't think you should be worried. If there are ghosts, it wouldn't be on this floor. No one died here after all."

Asuna just glared at the four lightly, "But you know how I feel about those!"

As soon as those words left her mouth, Asuna's face paled as she saw a young black haired girl wearing a white dress standing in between the trees, and Asuna froze, "G-ghost..."

Everyone turned at the direction where she was looking and saw the young girl fall to the ground face first. Kirito tch'd, "That's not a ghost. Let's go!"

Hikari shook Asuna out of her shock and they quickly ran over to the girl. Suguha said in surprise, "How did she get here?"

Everyone shared the same thoughts. Aincrad was only accessible to ninjas from the five major shinobi villages. There was simply no way the girl could have entered Aincrad like that.

Asuna and Hikari quickly ran a diagnosis on the girl's body before Asuna heard Isobu's voice, "Asuna, that's not a human."

The girl blinked, 'Eh? What do you mean?'

Isobu grunted, "That girl, so to speak, is a being of chakra, not so different from us Bijuu. But unfortunately, I cannot tell what she is. I'm sure the others are the same."

Asuna glanced at the others and from their looks, they knew it too, Kirito being the exception, "She's not human."

Suguha, Sinon and Hikari nodded. But Kirito was confused, "Wait, what?"

Sinon looked at the man, "I don't know, but it seems that this girl is like the Bijuu, a being of pure chakra."

Kirito glanced at the unconscious and not to mention cute face of the girl, "This... kid?"

Hikari nodded and also looked at the girl, "Yeah, but whatever the case, we have to bring her to someplace safe first."

The three other girls nodded in agreement. Kirito nodded and he quickly picked up the girl, "Let's go then."

Soon, they quickly returned to the safe area and returned to Konoha. (without telling Tenten and Liz)

Back at the Namikaze compound, Kirito placed the young girl on a bed in one of the guest rooms before Hikari and Asuna checked her over once again.

Asuna said, "She seems fine, there's nothing wrong with her."

Hikari nodded before she asked, "So, do you guys want to wake her up?"

Kirito stared at her, "Will there be any side effects? Or will it hurt her?"

Asuna shook her head, "As far as I know, no. Her body is perfectly fine, so it should be okay."

Suguha nodded, "Then I guess we could wake her up."

Hikari nodded and placed her hand on the girl's chest. Then she sent a pulse of chakra that caused the girl to jerk upwards.

The girl then opened her eyes slowly, almost robotically sitting up as she stared at the five people in front of her. The young girl then turned, looking around, taking in where she was.

An uncomfortable silence fell upon them as the young girl went back to stare at them. After another moment, Suguha asked, "Erm, what's your name?"

The girl stared at her, and Suguha almost flinched at the almost lifeless eyes of the girl, "Name?"

Suguha nodded, "Yes, your name."

The girl frowned before she looked at them and said, "Name... Yui..."

Kirito then said, "I see, Yui, I'm Kirito, this is Suguha, that's Asuna, Hikari and Sinon."

Yui stared at them and tried to say their names one by one, "Kiito? Suuuha? Auna? Hiali? Siino?"

Asuna blinked and chuckled as she noticed the faces her family sported, "Just call us what you want."

Yui nodded and she pointed at Kirito, "Papa."

Kirito blinked in surprise, "P-papa?!"

Yui nodded, "Papa."

She then turned to Asuna, "Mama."

Asuna also blinked in surprise, "M-mama?"

Yui nodded before she turned to the other girls. Pausing a while, she frowned cutely before turning back to Asuna, "Asuna-mama."

Yui then pointed at each of the other three girls, "Hikari-mama, Suguha-mama, Sinon-mama."

The girls just blinked as the young girl was able to pronounce their names perfectly. Sinon smiled forcedfully before she asked, "Umm, Yui, can you say our names again?"

Yui furrowed her brows before she nodded, "Siino, Suuuha, Auna, Kiito, Hiali."

The archer resisted the urge to facepalm as she sighed, "So she can't say our names properly..."

Asuna giggled, "It's fine, Sinon-chan."

Hikari nodded before she frowned, "But, if she's a being of pure chakra, she won't have any parents, right?"

The other four nodded, since Yui was essentially a Bijuu, she wouldn't have any parents. Asuna then suggested, "Then why don't we take her in?"

Her answer came from Isobu, "I don't think you can."

Asuna blinked before she thought, 'Why not?'

Isobu replied, "Make a clone, I'll explain."

Asuna complied and made a clone as Isobu quickly took control. He grunted, "The girl is made of chakra like us. But unfortunately, I can't sense a source, and her chakra is dropping. Slowly, yes, but at this rate, I doubt she would even last two days here."

Hikari furrowed her brows, "Then what do we do?"

Isobu folded his(?) arms, "Bring her back to Aincrad. While I couldn't sense it due to the seals there, I'm sure she is linked to the place."

He then looked at Hikari, "You can sense her chakra, right?"

Hikari nodded, she could sense Yui's chakra dropping slowly now that Isobu had mentioned it. Isobu nodded, "Good, check if her chakra drops in Aincrad."

Isobu then frowned as Yui pulled on his arm and he looked down at her, "What's wrong?"

Yui frowned and stared at him, "Weird turtle, get out of Asuna-mama's body."

That fact that she knew Isobu was even a turtle surprised everyone. Kirito asked, "Erm, Yui, how do you know Isobu is a turtle?"

Yui turned to him and said in an innocent tone, "I can see a turtle at this Asuna-mama's stomach, and this one also feels...funny."

She poked Isobu in the stomach, or rather, Asuna's clone as she said that last part, earning a small frown from the Sanbi. Isobu glared at the girl, "Stop it."

Yui, in return, glared back cutely, "Get out of Asuna-mama."

Isobu sighed and looked at the others, "I'm going back. You take care of the squirt."

With that said, and not waiting for a response, Isobu vanished in a puff of smoke, and the other Jinchurikii all heard their tenants laugh at the Sanbi's expense.

Then, they heard the main door open, telling them that Nagato and Konan had returned. Then shortly after, they turned to see Nagato and Konan at the door of the room.

The male Uzumaki asked, "Hmm, we have a guest?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah."

Nagato raised an eyebrow as he looked at her, "She feels weird though, as if she's like a bijuu."

Konan was confused, "Bijuu?"

Hikari nodded, "Yeah, apparently she's a being comprised of chakra, probably from Aincrad. That's why we're bringing her there now."

Nagato nodded before he asked, "But, aren't we the only ones granted access? If I remember correctly, Kayaba Akihiko said that."

Sinon nodded, "Yes, but we found her in Aincrad."

Konan considered this a while before she said, "You don't think she'd be one of those boss summons, right?"

Nagato stared at the girl and activated the Rinnegan, and Yui immediately moved behind Asuna, peeking out nervously. The male Uzumaki sighed, "No. Her chakra is too low to be a boss summon, or at least, the chakra she has now."

Nagato then looked at Hikari, "I believe it should be fine to bring her back. Sorry, but Tsunade-sama still hasn't permitted me to go to Aincrad yet."

The last Namikaze nodded, Tsunade had told her that Nagato going into Aincrad wasn't a good idea, especially with the seals in Aincrad that may damage him.

Hikari then turned to the others, "So, shall we go now?"

Kirito glanced at Yui who was still hiding behind Asuna and nodded, "Yeah, let's go."

A few minutes later, the six of them were once again on the 22nd floor, right at the spot where Yui was found.

Hikari looked at the girl, "Yui, how do you feel?"

The girl smiled at the blonde, "I feel better now. Thank you, Hikari-mama."

Hikari just smiled. She still wasn't used to an 8-year old looking girl that was essentially a bijuu calling her 'mama'.

Suguha then asked, "So Yui, what do you want to do now?"

Yui turned to look at the girl, but before she could answer, a male voice reached their ears, "So this is where you went."

Everyone turned to see Kayaba standing there, wearing a red cloak. Kirito narrowed his eyes, "Kayaba-sensei..."

The master blacksmith smiled humourlessly, silently noting that Yui had moved to hide behind Kirito and Asuna, peeking out at him, he then regarded the four girls before he said, "Kirito, good to see you."

The younger blacksmith replied, "Feelings not mutual, but I have a lot of questions for you."

Kayaba chuckled before he said, "Yeah, before that, mind handing that little girl to me?"

Asuna glared at the man, "I don't think so."

The older man looked at the girl, "Asuna, you do know she's not a human, right?"

Hikari spoke up, also glaring at him, "And what do _you_ know?"

Kayaba chuckled, "More than you think. I made her, after all. Indirectly, but still. That little girl is a part of the system of Aincrad, made to overlook everything that happens in it, especially the actions of you challengers."

Sinon narrowed her eyes, "A system?"

The man nodded, "Exactly, I can't really constantly watch over your every move. So, I developed a system for that, well, considering that its job is to monitor the actions of the people in Aincrad, I suppose it wouldn't be strange for it to develop a form of artificial intelligence."

Kirito stared at his teacher, "So, what do you want?"

Kayaba let out a breath, "Simple, right now that system is incomplete. I'll be taking her back to complete it."

At those words, Yui hid herself further behind Asuna and Kirito. The rapier user then asked warily, "What will happen to her if the system becomes complete again?"

Kayaba blinked before he answered, "Most probably, its consciousness will be erased."

Asuna glared at him, "Then we won't hand her over."

Kayaba blinked several times before he laughed, "Technically I could just take her. But alright, let's play a game, shall we?"

Before anyone could react, he snapped his fingers. And everything around them changed. Instead of a forest, they were now in a boss room.

Kirito glanced around before he glared at his teacher, "What did you do?"

Kayaba smirked, "Hikari can do the Hiraishin, and you can do a similar teleportation technique. As you know, I placed many seals on this Aincrad. Teleportation is obviously one of them. Its not perfect though, so I can't do it as often as you can."

He then snapped his fingers again, "Now, enough about that. Let's get on with our game, and I believe you should know that we are on the 50th floor now."

That sent everyone into high alert. They hadn't even found the boss room, much less know what it was. Ever since they reached higher levels, like the 25th floor, they had always scouted the boss first, then only send in the squads.

Now here they were, in the boss room of the 50th floor. Kayaba smiled, knowing exactly what they were thinking, "The game we're playing, is simple."

He looked at Kirito straight in the eye, "Kirito, all you need to do, is beat the boss. Alone. If you can do that, then I'll cut all ties with that... girl. She'll get her own chakra source, and she can exist outside of Aincrad with no problems. Her link to Aincrad will be cut, and she can live a normal life."

Asuna narrowed her eyes at him, holding Yui close to her, "How do we know you're not lying?"

Kayaba nodded, "You don't. But, I believe this is a good trade, no? All Kirito needs to do, is beat the boss alone, clear the 50th floor. Then the girl is free, and you all get to advance another floor."

Kirito stayed silent, considering his options. Yui, Suguha, Sinon, Asuna and Hikari all glanced at him. Hikari started, "Kirito-kun, we can find another way."

Kirito let out a breath and stared at Kayaba in the eye, "Very well. I'll play your game."

The older man smirked, "Good, your opponent, is the Fatal Scythe."

He snapped his fingers, and instantly, a massive cloaked figure appeared behind him. The figure was a skeleton, wearing a hooded cloak, and holding a massive scythe.

Kayaba smiled, "Good luck, do try to make it out alive. I'm actually looking forward to what happens on the 100th floor, and I'd rather you be there."

Kirito didn't reply, instead, watching the Fatal Scythe. Kayaba chuckled before he glanced at the girls, "You four are not allowed to help him, or I will take the girl away."

With that said, he vanished, but everyone was sure he was watching them. Kirito stared at the Fatal Scythe, silently noting the worried looks the five girls gave him.

He ignored them and steeled himself as he drew his swords, causing the boss to seemingly cackle in glee. Kirito immediately took on an orange glow, activating his mark and Acceleration. Then he charged.

The skeleton immediately swung its blade as Kirito closed in, and Kirito's eyes widened as he managed to tilt his body just in time to dodge the scythe. He spun and landed on the ground, quickly regaining his bearings before he charged again.

Kirito thought as he dashed forward, 'Its fast... This is gonna be hard...'

As he charged, Kirito had to dodge all the strikes due to the Fatal Scythe's superior range and speed. He narrowed his eyes as he ran, he could feel the power behind those swings even if they never touched him. And he knew, one hit, and it was over for him.

As he entered striking range, the Fatal Scythe swung its scythe down, slamming into the ground as Kirito jumped up. The swordsman then used the shaft of the scythe and leaped up to the face of the boss.

Kirito roared and swung his swords, striking the cloaked skeleton's head hard. But to his surprise, it was only as effective as a hard slap.

He tch'd and spun, giving a hard kick to the boss' face just as it turned its face back to face him. The Fatal Scythe groaned as it was sent backwards for a few meters.

But Kirito wasn't done. Not missing a beat, he threw the Dark Repulsor at the skeleton. Then he reappeared in front of the boss, grabbed the Dark Repulsor and activated a sword skill.

Kirito roared as the Elucidator glowed, "VORPAL STRIKE!"

The black glowing sword struck the skeleton in the head. But to Kirito's shock, all it did was basically the equivalent to giving it a very hard punch.

And all it served to do, was piss off the Fatal Scythe. The boss growled and pulled its skeletal arm back, then before Kirito could react, it slammed its fist into Kirito.

The swordsman felt like he had been slammed into a freight train as he was sent to the ground. Kirito groaned and shook his head in pain, trying to regain his bearings as he tightened his grip around his swords.

He then heard Hikari's voice, "Kirito-kun!"

The swordsman looked up to see the Fatal Scythe right in front of him, the scythe poised to strike. On instinct, Kirito raised both swords and attempted to block the blow. Keyword, attempted.

The scythe collided with the two swords, but the force the boss used was too great, and sent the two swords flying away, while Kirito was sent crashing into a wall, coughing out blood as he did. Then he fell to the ground.

The four girls were shocked as Kirito fell, and they all tried to move to help Kirito when a barrier stopped them. Then Kayaba's voice reached their ears, "No helping him, unless you want the my system to be complete."

The four just gritted their teeth/clench their fists. Yui noticed their hesitation, then she glanced at Kirito who was struggling to get up.

Determination burned in her eyes, and Yui looked at the girls, "Help papa! Don't mind me!"

The four girls looked shocked at her words. Asuna asked, "Are you sure, Yui?"

The being of chakra nodded, but before she could say anything, Kirito yelled, "NO!"

Everyone turned to see Kirito standing up wobbly, blood dripping from the edge of his mouth. Kirito glared at the boss, "It's not over... I WILL FREE YUI!"

The boss seemed to cackle at his words, enjoying the fact that Kirito wasn't giving up even when he was obviously losing.

The Fatal Scythe decided Kirito was amusing, deserving to live a little bit longer. Then it slammed the blunt end of its scythe into Kirito's left side, sending him crashing into another wall, leaving a human shaped crater in the wall as Kirito fell to the ground.

With Kirito, his ears were ringing. Everything was slowing down, and everything was a blur. It wasn't like when he used the Acceleration.

His whole body felt like it was on fire. Every single movement hurt, especially his left side. Kirito could barely make out Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and Hikari's worried voices, and he could barely hear Yui's voice as well.

Kirito painfully glanced up, the blurry image of the Fatal Scythe's skeletal face looking down at him. He thought, 'I can't let this end here... Not now.'

The Fatal Scythe raised its scythe, this time, pointing the sharp end downwards, preparing to end Kirito's life. Kirito gritted his teeth as he tried to move, 'Not yet...'

The skeleton started to swing its scythe, and Kirito clenched his fists as he tried his best to move, but his body wouldn't obey him, 'Not here...'

Then Kirito heard a voice, a male and soft voice in his mind, 'Exactly, Kirito. You still have a lot to do. Remember, what you've been doing until now, what you're fighting for.'

Kirito looked down, and he spoke subconsciously, "I am the bone of my sword..."

Just as the scythe was about to reach Kirito's neck, the Fatal Scythe was blown away by seven copies of the Elucidator that floated in the air.

Kirito steadily stood up, the seven blades floating dangerously around him. Then everyone saw him, and they were surprised, even Kayaba who was on the 100th floor watching them.

Kirito had a yellow aura around him. But it was slightly different than when he used his mark. This was thicker, way thicker than usual. And his eyes were yellow, glowing brightly with power as Kirito glared at the cloaked skeleton, brighter than when he used his mark.

In that instant, everyone saw a silhouette of a knight with silver black armor overlapping Kirito's body. But it vanished as soon as it appeared.

Then Kirito dashed forward, his body taking on a red hue as he appeared in front of the Fatal Scythe's face, along with the seven Elucidators surrounding the boss.

He reached back, and a copy of the Kubikiribocho appeared in his arms. If possible, the Fatal Scythe's eyes would have widened as Kirito activated a sword skill, Avalanche.

The orange glowing blade struck the skeleton's head, leaving a huge mark on the face. But Kirito wasn't done. He kicked the skeleton in the face hard before using it to jump away, willing his seven swords to slash at the Fatal Scythe as he landed on the ground.

The skeleton flailed wildly, trying to parry all the blades, but failing. Kirito let out a breath as he stood up. Earlier, the boss could match his speed, even with his Acceleration. But now, he was far faster. And he could win.

Kirito used one of the copied Elucidators as a marker, and he vanished in a burst of blue particles, appearing on the ground behind the Fatal Scythe.

He let go of the Kubikiribocho, letting his instincts guide him, and he projected another blade. This blade looked similar to the Dark Repulsor, except for one major difference. There was a blue rose on the guard.

Kirito then roared, holding the sword up, "ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"

Then he flipped the blade into reverse grip and stabbed it into the ground, "RELEASE RECOLLECTION!"

In that instant, ice, in the form of thorned tendrils and roses burst from the ground, wrapping around the skeleton before completely encasing it in ice.

The Fatal Scythe groaned as it struggled to break free. But Kirito's eyes and the aura around him glowed brighter, causing more ice to appear around the boss, completely stopping its movements.

Kirito then held out his left hand, and a black sword instantly appeared in it. This one looked a lot like the Elucidator, with the exception of the shape of the guard, which looked like a symbol of a tree.

He then swung the sword, pointing it at the Fatal Scythe, "ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, dark energy burst out of the sword and blasted towards the frozen boss, taking a rough shape similar to roots and vines.

Then in a blink of an eye, the beam pierced right through the Fatal Scythe's chest, breaking the ice in the process as the boss quickly broke into light particles.

Then, as usual, the words, 'CONGRATULATIONS', (Along with the Final Fantasy victory theme) appeared in front of Kirito. The swordsman let out a breath of relief as he fell to one knee, the two swords dispersing.

Kirito then thought as he looked at the ground, 'Those swords. And that voice... It felt familiar.'

But for some reason, he couldn't remember that voice's name, and he couldn't remember the swords he had held, the memories quickly fading away. It was frustrating, like something you knew at a moment, but the next moment, you forgot all about it.

But Kirito was sure, the black sword was his. And the blue sword belonged to someone he held dear, someone very close to his heart. But for some reason, he just couldn't remember. He also knew, even if he tried to forge those blades, they wouldn't be the same.

Before he could continue with his thoughts, he heard the sound of clapping. Then Kayaba's voice reached him, "I've gotta say. I'm impressed."

Kirito looked up and saw his teacher standing there. He stood up, albeit tiredly, and glared at him, "I won. Now, Yui is free to go."

The master blacksmith nodded, "Of course. As promised, she can exist outside Aincrad for as long as she wants. Hell, even if Aincrad is destroyed, she won't be affected. Yui, as you call her, will be her own being."

Kayaba then gestured to the path behind him, "Now, the gate to the 51st floor is open. Of course, you're also free to leave now."

Kirito and the girls didn't reply, Kayaba then brought a book out of his cloak and threw it at Kirito, who caught it easily.

Kirito narrowed his eyes, "What's this?"

The master smiled, "An extra gift, for making this fight so interesting. It should prove useful for those girls with you. Ciao."

With that said, Kayaba vanished, leaving the six of them alone. Kirito sighed tiredly before he turned to the girls, "Come on, let's just open the gate and go home... I need a nap."

After he said that, he added in his mind, 'And probably try to remember where I saw those swords, and who that voice was.'

(linebreak)

Later, in the afternoon, in Agil's cafe, Kirito was having a cup of coffee, with Sasuke, Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, Neji and Lee.

After unlocking the 51st floor, and taking a one hour nap, the girls decided they would bring Yui to shop for clothes before they had dinner outside, since Kirito was too tired and didn't want to cook.

So the swordsman had wisely shut up and let the girls do their shopping while he went to have a cup of coffee.

Asuma said as they sat a table, "So Kirito, heard you cleared another floor, this time alone."

Kirito sighed, "Yeah... Wait... You already know?"

Kakashi nodded, "Of course, the kages keep everyone involved posted about any progress in Aincrad after all."

Lee and Gai both shouted in unison, "YOSH! KIRITO/KIRITO-SAN'S FLAMES OF YOUTH IS BURNING BRIGHTLY!"

Sasuke shook his head and asked Kirito, "So, I thought you weren't supposed to fight bosses alone?"

Kirito sighed, "Well, a lot happened, and it ended up with me fighting the boss alone."

Neji chuckled, "You sure have it tough."

Kirito chuckled before Yui came to mind, along with the four girls he loved, "You have no idea man..."

Kirito took a sip from his coffee before he asked, "So, anything interesting today?"

Asuma shrugged, "Not really, we just went on a normal B-ranked mission, not much."

Neji nodded, "Our team went to scout the 50th floor."

He then glanced at Kirito, "Well, not that it matters since someone had to clear the floor."

Kirito sighed and facepalmed, "Yeah, there's a really good reason for that..."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

Everyone nodded, rather curious as to why Kirito would, and could, beat the 50th boss summon.

But before Kirito could respond, the door opened and a young 8 year old girl ran to Kirito's side, "Papa!"

Everyone stared in surprise as Yui said, "Papa! We're done shopping, Asuna-mama told me to come get you so we could go eat ramen!"

The other men at the table were all shocked and shouted/said in unison, "P-PAPA?!"

Kirito just scratched the back of his head with a troubled expression, trying his hard to ignore the looks he got from other tables, "Well, things happened on the 22nd and 50th floor, so the girls decided to take her in, and she just started calling me her... papa..."

He quickly finished his coffee and stood up, "Well, that's that... I'll see you guys tomorrow on the 51st floor, probably."

With that, Kirito held Yui's hand and the two walked out of Agil's shop, leaving a group of confused/shocked people.

XXX

Done... So, Yui is here. Now, if you're thinking she has little interaction here, this is just the introduction. She will get more development in the future.

On a side note, what do you guys think if Yui gets larger chakra reserves and gets sealed into Kirito as a Pseudo-Bijuu?

Also, I'll be doing the 74th and 75th floors for the next chapters, and then to the 100th floor, cuz for what I've planned, apart from these three, there won't be any thing happening, just the basic clearing floor things.

Plus I don't wanna take too long for the Aincrad arc.

So yeah, review please.


	51. Chapter 51

Hey. This is the 51st chapter.

 **Antex The Legendary Zoroark** , thanks for your review man, glad you liked it.

 **edricoft** , thank you, glad you liked it. And yes, for your review on the 21st chapter, its the Universal Command attack.

So, I guess I will be having Yui as a Pseudo Bijuu then. The question is, when and how. I'll prob do it after Aincrad ends. Or before Aincrad ends. Any suggestions for how she ends up sealed in Kirito, and when?

Please do tell me your ideas, be it through pm or review.

Anyways, here's the chapter.

XXX

A few weeks later, in the evening, Danzo was standing in front ofnthe teleport gate outside Konoha, with 50 of his ROOT Anbu behind him.

The warhawk had been wanting to see this Aincrad for himself, and possibly get it under his control. Danzo had managed to send his own Anbu and scout out the floors they had access to, when no one was looking.

When he found what was there, Danzo had never been so happy. The bosses that were defeated, were all summons, and they could be summoned in the rooms if one wanted to.

Another reason Danzo was going in now, was because they had finally reached the 74th floor, so he could look for anything that the others might have missed.

Plus, Danzo had made sure that most of the squads sent to scout the 74th floor had gone home, so he could go in without any fear of being found out, even if there were one or two squads left inside.

Danzo channeled chakra into the gate, and in an instant, he, along with his squad of Ne Anbu, vanished as they entered Aincrad.

The warhawk opened his eyes to see the town around him. He snapped his fingers, and instantly, the Anbu around hin vanished, leaving one beside him.

Danzo said, "Take off your mask, from here onwards, you will temporarily take on the name Sai."

The Anbu nodded and took off his mask, revealing a face that was essentially a pale Sasuke. Danzo nodded, "Good, let's go."

The now named Sai nodded as he followed his master towards the dungeons, followed by the other Ne Anbu that hid in the shadows around them.

Meanwhile, Kirito, Asuna, Hikari, Suguha and Sinon were standing in front of a massive set of gates. Kirito stared at the gates, "This is the boss room, right?"

Asuna nodded, "Yeah, well, we found this faster than I'd expected."

Suguha stretched her back, tired from having to fight the monsters in the dungeon, "Finally... We can finally go home and rest, not mention a shower too."

Hikari giggled, "True, but we still have to report to Tsunade-baachan before we go home."

Sinon and Asuna smiled as Suguha sighed. Kirito glanced at the gates, "Hey, wanna take a look inside?"

Suguha whined, "Eh?! Now?! Why not we just leave it to everyone tomorrow?"

Asuna playfully slapped Suguha shoulder and scolded lightly, "Hey, don't be so lazy! Any info we can get on the enemy can help us when we actually fight it. Besides, Nagato and Konan are looking after Yui."

Sinon nodded, "Yeah, besides, it won't take long, and its not like we're gonna fight it."

Suguha pouted for a bit before she sighed, "Fine... But we'll just stay by the door, okay?"

Everyone just laughed lightly as they approached the gates. As they reached the gates, Kirito placed his right hand on it, the Dark Repulsor in his left, "I'm opening it, okay?"

The girls nodded, all having drawn their weapons, in case of the unlikely event that they're attacked. Kirito then pushed the gates open, the gates swinging open slowly with a loud creaking sound.

The five of them slowly entered the dark room. Once they passed several meters from the gates, the torches on the walls around them lit up one by one, until the room was fully illuminated.

Then something slammed onto the floor, causing a massive tremor. Then they saw it.

Like all the bosses, it was as big as a Bijuu, and had muscles as taut as ropes rippling up its towering form. Its skin was deep blue and its eyes glinted with the same blue-white hue, matching the tint of the flames in its boss room.

Its head, resting atop its thick chest, was that of a goat's rather than a human's and had an an elongated snout and thick, twisted horns stretching backward from the sides of the head. The lower half of its body with bestial legs was covered in long, navy hair.

And in its hands, was a massive zanbatou. Behind the beast, on the wall, were the words, 'The Gleams Eyes'.

The beast's eyes landed on the five of them, and it gave a loud roar. Everyone jumped slightly as the beast glared down at them, and it started to move towards them.

Kirito said, "Let's slowly back away, we don't want to fight it yet."

The girls nodded as they slowly backed away. Sure, they could possibly take on the boss and win, but even then they didn't want to take any chances.

But the Gleam Eyes took that as a sign of weakness, and it roared again. Then it raised its sword and swung it downwards.

Hikari's eyes widened as she turned and threw a Hiraishin kunai outwards, "Kirito-kun!"

The man got the hint as he spun and shot a copy of the Elucidator out. Hikari grabbed Suguha and Asuna's shoulders while Kirito grabbed Sinon's shoulder. Then they vanished in a flash of yellow and blue, leaving a confused boss.

Kirito laughed as they stabilized themselves after that sudden warp, "Well, that boss seemed strong."

Sinon let out a breath, "Yeah, but it didn't seem to have any special abilities, apart from that sword."

Suguha nodded, "No other weapons, but it might have special abilities, maybe shooting lazer beams from its eyes?"

Hikari giggled, "Maybe. Let's go, we should report to Hokage-sama."

Asuna nodded, "Yui'll probably be angry if we take too long too."

Kirito chuckled, "You really do love Yui like she's your real daughter."

Asuna pouted as Sinon chuckled, "Well, can't blame her. Yui looks just like Asuna and your daughter, if you had one with her."

Kirito let out a breath, "Well, I think we should get going, right?"

As they turned to leave the area, they instantly put on their guard as two men came into view. Hikari said, wariness in her voice, "Kirito-kun."

Kirito nodded as he kept his grip on the Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor, "Danzo..."

The old warhawk smiled, "Ah, Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, Sinon, and Hikari. Nice to see you here."

Hikari narrowed her eyes at the old man, "The feeling's not mutual."

Danzo merely smiled. He hated to admit it, but the Kyubi Jinchurikii, and the other Jinchurikii in Konoha for that matter, were hard to grasp, as they were not loyal to the village, not entirely.

Their loyalty laid within the young man standing in front of him, as much as he hated to admit it. Danzo was sure, that if for any reason, Kirito told the girls to destroy Konoha, they would probably do it without a doubt.

Of course, there were other factors that determined their loyalty as well. One of them, was their loyalty, or rather, care and trust for some of the people in the village. Jiraiya and Tsunade, for example.

The four Jinchurikii in front of him simply couldn't be controlled, at least, not the way he wanted to. But he could compromise, for the safety of Konoha.

All he needed to do, was ensure that the people that the five of them cared for, were loyal to the village. Then the five of them would be loyal to Konoha.

Another reason Danzo had to leave them be, was also because of their ties to other villages. Hikari alone, was the heir to Uzu no Kuni, that meant, if she became Hokage in the future, it would boost Konoha's power and wealth by a large margin.

Hikari also had ties to the current Raikage and Kazekage, as the two leaders held a considerably large amount of respect for the girl.

The other Jinchurikii didn't really have ties to the other villaged, but Hikari and Kirito had the respect of Zabuza, who had the Mizukage's favour.

That meant that if the five of them were to stay loyal to Konoha, three out of the other four major shinobi villages would be allied to them, and would never attack them.

Of course, an alliance with all other four ninja villages wasn't what Danzo wanted. But he was a very patient man, he waited and prepared for decades after all, he could wait for a while more. And the answer, laid in Aincrad.

Danzo looked past the five, "Is the boss room up ahead?"

The five shared a silent conversation before Sinon nodded, "Yeah, we found it just a while ago."

Danzo smiled, "I see. Thank you, I'll go have a look for myself."

With that said, Danzo and Sai walked past them. As the two walked, Kirito turned and called out, "If you're planning to fight it, don't. You'll only be killing yourselves."

Danzo turned his head and smiled in a grand-fatherly manner, "I don't think you'll need to worry. I _do_ have a team of Anbu around us as we speak, after all. It'll be fine."

The old warhawk turned, 'Yes, everything will be fine, and I will get the beast, and all the others, under my control.'

As the old man walked towards the room, Danzo was blissfully unaware of the fact that he was being watched.

On the hundredth floor, Kayaba frowned. He had somewhat expected Danzo to try what he was doing now. The old warhawk was just to power hungry for his own good.

The man huffed as he turned to the control panel, specifically the interface for the seals in the boss room of the 74th floor. It was time for Danzo to pay the piper.

Back with Kirito and the girls, the five of them stood there, watching the shrinking image of Danzo and Sai as the two approached the boss room.

Suguha asked, "Hey, you think we should keep an eye on them?"

Hikari narrowed her eyes, "Probably. Who knows what that old bastard's up to..."

Kirito looked at the girls and knew they were going to follow them, if only to make sure what they were doing wouldn't hurt anyone.

The young man sighed, "Whatever, let's go. Better safe than sorry."

The girls all nodded before they started to go back to the boss room. Soon, they reached the boss room, and as Kirito expected, it was open.

Then they heard a scream of pain.

Asuna looked at the others, "Let's go!"

They nodded as they charged into the room, and they were met with a horrific sight.

On the ground, were a dozen Anbu, all dead. Thirty seven other Anbu stood around the Gleam Eyes, some injured, some with their masks off.

Some distance from them, was Danzo, along with Sai by his side, the former glaring at the boss, or rather, the ceiling.

Earlier, the 50 Anbu along with Danzo had reached the boss room. Sai glanced at his master, "Danzo-sama, your orders."

The old warhawk nodded, "Open the gates, and secure the room."

The 50 Anbu nodded as they opened the gates. Then, the 49 Anbu all rushed in and spread out in the room, while Sai remained with Danzo, walking in slowly.

Then, the lights lit up one by one. While nit visibly shown, that sent the 50 Anbu into alert. Danzo just narrowed his eyes as he placed he increased his grip on his cane, preparing to unleash Shisui's Sharingan when the chance came.

Then the lights finished lighting up, and it appeared. Everyone turned to face the center as the Gleam Eyes slammed onto the floor, letting out a loud roar as it stood upright, though none of the ninja seemed fazed.

Danzo nodded slightly, and in an instant, the 49 Anbu dashed towards the humanoid creature, drawing their swords as they did.

All of them slashed at the boss, mostly at the legs and the back. The Gleam Eyes grunted in pain as it swung its zanbatou around, sending several of the Anbu flying.

As the Anbu all landed, Danzo slammed his cane on the ground, drawing the beast's attention. The Gleam Eyes turned to Danzo, then the Shinobi no Yami acted.

To the boss' confusion, Danzo threw his cane at it, causing the staff to bounce off harmlessly. Then the old warhawk ripped the bandages off his head, revealing a Mangekyou Sharingan.

The boss roared at Danzo, before the man spoke, "Kotoamatsukami!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, the Gleam Eyes froze as a Sharingan started to form within the boss' eyes.

Then, as the jutsu started to take hold, Danzo's eyes widened as he felt his chakra cut off, and his Mangekyou Sharingan returned to that of a normal eye.

At the same time, the Sharingan in the Gleam Eyes'... eyes, vanished, causing the humanoid to roar as it regained its senses.

As the beast roared, Danzo realized what had happened, and he was about to curse at the man responsible for it, when the Gleam Eyes roared, sending a blast of purple energy at the old man.

The man's eyes widened as his mind barely registered the fact that a beam of energy was right in front of his face. Then Danzo was suddenly pushed asideaside by one of his Anbu.

The old warhawk growled as he stood up, but then his eyes widened. After he had been pushed away, several of his Anbu had tried to attack the humanoid.

But the Gleam Eyes merely swung its blade and blasted them away, killing five of them, while injuring most of the other Anbu. Danzo growled and glared at the ceiling, "Kayaba... AKIHIKO!"

(Note, by now Kirito and co have reached the gates and are watching them.)

The warhawk growled again and turned to the creature. The Gleam Eyes also turned to the man, its eyes mocking him, taunting him to attack.

Danzo glared at the beast, he knew ninjutsu was useless, and if the Kotoamatsukami didn't work, then any other Genjutsu was probably useless, and with his body, using pure taijutsu was suicide.

So he did the next best thing. Danzo ripped off the bandages from his arm, revealing ten Sharingans in a white arm. Then, he picked up his cane, which had, fortunately, landed near him.

Danzo then drew a sword from the cane, staring at the Gleam Eyes. The boss merely stabbed its sword onto the ground, obviously telling Danzo to attack.

It worked, as Danzo absolutely hated being looked down upon, especially more so since it wasn't even human. The warhawk charged, followed by the other Anbu that weren't hurt badly.

That was their mistake.

With speed that wasn't possible for something that size, the Gleam Eyes grabbed its zanbatou and swung it in a wide arc.

The result was two dozen dead Ne Anbu, all cut in half as they fell to the floor. As for Danzo, he was also cut in half. But he was sent flying right to the edge of the room, exactly at Kirito's feet.

Danzo croaked out, shocked that he couldn't activate the Izanagi in any of his Sharingan, "H-how?"

Then the spark of life faded from his eyes, and Shimura Danzo, the Darkness of Shinobi, laid there dead.

The five of them stared at the dead face of Danzo, shocked to see the elder dead, or in Kirito's case, shocked that Danzo had so many Sharingans in his possesion.

Then, the screams of several Anbu caught their attention. Asuna clenched her fists, "We need to help them."

Hikari nodded, "Yeah."

Suguha and Sinon both nodded in agreement. Kirito sighed and scratched his head, "Ah dammit...whatever."

He stepped forward, "I'll get the boss, you four get those idiots outta here."

The girls nodded as they went to work. Kirito let out a breath, "Trace... On."

Instantly, seven copies of the Kubikiribocho appeared around him. Then, with a mental command, the seven zanbatou shot forward.

The Gleam Eyes growled and parried the first zanbatou before the other six swords spread out, surrounding the beast.

Then to its surprise, Kirito vanished in a burst of blue particles. The Gleam Eyes growled in pain as it suddenly felt two slashes to its back. The beast quickly spun, swinging its sword at him.

But Kirito was already gone, appearing by one of the copied swords near the ground. The boss growled, turning to strike Kirito. But it roared in pain as two of the copied Kubikiribocho sliced at its legs, causing it to fall to its knees.

As the Gleam Eyes tried to get back to its feet, Kirito took a moment to glance around. The girls were almost done with bringing the injured Anbu to the entrance of the room, he looked back at the boss again, 'This might be a good chance to kill it.'

Kirito turned to face the Gleam Eyes and sheathed his two swords, grabbing a copy of the zanbatous around him.

With the girls, they had just finished helping the Anbu to the edge of the boss room. Suguha glanced at Kirito and noticed him grabbing the sword, "Hey, you don't think he's planning to kill it?"

Hikari stepped forward, forming two clones as she quickly made a Rasenshuriken, "Whatever the case, we have to help him."

The girl dispelled her clones and charged in, leaping up as she threw the Rasenshuriken, "Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!"

Asuna and Sinon both sighed, while Suguha shook her head before the three quickly charged in, ignoring the slightly surprised looks from the Anbu.

The Rasenshuriken soared through the air, shooting towards the Gleam Eyes. It was not unnoticed by the boss, as it growled and raised its sword to block the blast, to Kirito's surprise.

But the explosion from the attack sent the boss skidding several feet away, just as the four girls landed beside the swordsman.

Sinon nocked an arrow, "You seem to be having fun."

Kirito chuckled, "Sorry, it just seemed like a nice chance since the boss is already injured."

Asuna giggled, "Well, might as well just get this over with."

Suguha shook her head with a smile, "Yui-chan is going to be mad."

Hikari grinned, "Then let's hurry up and finish this up."

Kirito smirked, "Yeah, let's go!"

At the same time, the Gleam Eyes managed to regain its balance and roared at the five of them as it opened its mouth and shot a beam of purple energy at them.

The five quickly spread out, dodging the blast easily as Asuna charged in. The Gleam Eyes spotted the girl and tried to crush her by stabbing the zanbatou at her.

The rapier user jumped, avoiding the stab as she ran up the sword. As Asuna reached the hilt, the humanoid tried to grab the girl with his other hand.

But the girl merely leaped up, dodging the grab easily. Then, her sword started to glow blue, and she moved.

This was what the book Kayaba gave them contained. It was the way for normal shinobi to use sword skills. But even then, it required a large amount of chakra control.

Fortunately, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha had that control. With guidance from the book, Asuna and Suguha managed to learn several sword skills from the scrolls Kayaba left Kirito in the shop.

As for Sinon, she managed to learn several spells that could be used in conjunction with her arrows. Unfortunately, the chakra control required was simply too great for Hikari to learn any.

Kirito also benefited from the book, learning one spell which allowed him to transform into anything he could imagine, for a certain amount of time of course.

Although, Kirito could only share that knowledge with the girls. As soon as the three of them learned how to use a sword skill, or spell in Sinon's case, the book burst into flames, most probably due to a seal Kayaba placed on the book.

Back to the present, as she came down at the beast, Asuna swiftly stabbed at the Gleam Eyes' shoulder three times. The beast roared and tried to swing its arm at Asuna.

But the girl merely spun and used its arm to kick herself towards the ground, landing skillfully before she gave two slashes at the Gleam Eyes' legs.

The boss roared and swung its sword horizontally at Asuna's level, hoping to rip her in half. But Asuna also saw it coming, and she jumped up, dodging the attack before using the sword to boss her up once more.

Asuna stabbed at the boss twice more before she yelled, "Kirito-kun!"

The swordsman nodded and willed the copied swords to shoot forward, slashing at boss, with one of the zanbatou moving behind Asuna.

The girl spun and kicked against the sword, using it to push herself towards the Gleam Eyes. The Lambant Light glowed brighter, and Asuna thrust the sword at the beast's chest, "Star Splash!"

The Gleam Eyes quickly ignored the slashes from the copied swords and raised its zanbatou to block the stab. But the attack was so strong that it actually broke the sword in half, even if it didn't damage the boss much.

But the others weren't done. As Asuna landed on the ground, Sinon let loose a lightning chakra enhanced arrow, striking the beast's shoulder.

Without missing a beat, Suguha and Hikari both charged forward. The katana user leaped up, her sword glowing light green, "Hiogi!"

Suguha slashed up and down as the boss raised its arms to block the attacks, leaving two gashes on its arms. Then, a wall of chains rose up behind Suguha, and the girl used it to push herself forward, thrusting her sword into its arms, causing the Gleam Eyes to roar in pain.

The beast tried to swing its arms at Suguha, but the girl quickly pulled out her sword and leaped away.

The Gleam Eyes tried to blast Suguha, but its eyes widened as two dozen chains wrapped around it, pulling it down to its knees. Hikari thought, 'Kurama, how much chakra can you manage now?'

The Kyubi smirked, "As we are now, I can manage one Bijuudama, that's all. But, that should be enough, right?"

Hikari turned to Kirito, "Kirito-kun, keep it busy for a bit!"

Kirito nodded, along with the other three girls as they charged in, the swordsman projecting several more swords around them.

As the four kept the Gleam Eyes occupied, with the chains slowly retracting to the ground. Hikari focused on Kurama's seal, slowly pulling his chakra out.

Soon, she took on the yellow Bijuu cloak, forming the head of Kurama around her. Hikari held up her hands as Kurama's head opened his mouth, drawing in black and white chakra, forming a large Tailed Beast Bomb.

Normally, it wouldn't take even a minute to form one, but because of the seals in Aincrad, they could barely draw out enough chakra to form a full sized bijuu.

As the Bijuudama formed, the Gleam Eyes noticed it, sensing the power behind the sphere. The beast roared and flailed wildly, breaking off the remaining chains before it charged at Hikari.

Kirito cursed and charged forward, but he was a tad bit too slow. Fortunately, Hikari was already done.

As the Gleam Eyes charged, Hikari and Kurama roared, "BIJUUDAMA!"

The two unleashed the Tailed Beast Bomb, sending the attack straight at the humanoid.

But then, the attack didn't explode. Instead, to everyone's surprise, the Gleam Eyes swung its zanbatou at the bomb, using the flat of its sword like a bat.

For a moment, the Bijuudama pushed against the sword, almost overpowering the Gleam Eyes. But then the beast roared, charging the sword with its chakra as it glowed purple.

Then, it spun, swinging its sword with it, and sent the Bijuudama flying straight at Kirito and the others.

Hikari yelled as she threw a Hiraishin kunai at the Bijuudama, her chakra cloak already gone, "No!"

But the kunai wouldn't reach in time, nor would any of the attacks from Asuna, Sinon and Suguha work to stop the bomb, nor could they dodge the attack.

Kirito cursed and activated his mark and the Acceleration, then he unsheathed both of his swords, "RELEASE RECOLLECTION!"

The two swords were immediately engulfed with light, forming a large blade of chakra. Then, right as the Bijuudama closed in, Kirito swung his blades.

Kirito grunted as he felt the force of the Bijuudama reach his arms. No words could describe the weight of the blast as he struggled to push the bomb back.

Asuna yelled in concern, "Kirito-kun!"

Kirito yelled out as he pushed, "Move! NOW!"

The three girls quickly got out of the way as Kirito slowly slid backwards. The swordsman gritted his teeth as he pushed.

The Gleam Eyes growled and started to run towards him, the floor shaking with every step. Then the young man subconsciously said, "I am the bone of my sword..."

At that moment, the yellow aura around him intensified, causing the large sword of light to glow brighter.

Then, the Bijuudama was sent flying back at the Gleam Eyes. The boss' eyes widened as it raised its sword to send the Bijuudama back, but it was too slow.

The Bijuudama slammed into the Gleam Eyes chest, pushing it back, but not exploding yet. The beast growled and tried to push the bomb up to the ceiling, but then its eyes widened again, as it saw Kirito right in front of it, his large sword of light still activated.

The young man stared at the beast coldly. Then he swung his blade down.

As soon as the blade touched the Bijuudama, everything turned white, and Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon were blasted away by the explosion.

The blonde managed to use her chains to hold her in place, while Asuna, Suguha and Sinon were sent flying to where the Anbu were, right outside the boss room.

Soon, the light died out, and the girls opened their eyes to see Kirito falling towards the ground. Hikari quickly dropped a Hiraishin kunai and threw another at him, reappearing under Kirito.

The girl grabbed him before she reappeared back where she previously was, this time with Kirito on the ground.

The swordsman chuckled painfully, "Thanks... Damn it hurts."

Hikari huffed, "That's what you get for doing something so reckless."

Kirito laughed lightly, "Well, I learn from the best."

The Uzumaki just giggled as the words 'CONGRATULATIONS' appeared in the air, along with the teleport gate for the 75th floor.

Kirito sat up, groaning as he picked up his swords and placed them back in the sheaths, "So, another floor cleared. Let's go activate the gate."

Meanwhile, with the others, the three girls were surprised to see Kirito falling, but were quickly relieved to see Hikari catch them.

Asuna sighed, "That idiot... Charging in like that."

Sinon nodded, "Well, at least we won."

Suguha nodded before she looked at the Anbu, "But, so many of them died, and so many injured."

Asuna asked, "How many of them?"

The katana user did a head count and said, "There are around 20 of them left."

Sinon nodded, "I see."

After a short while of silence, Kirito and Hikari walked to them. The Namikaze asked, "So, what do we do now?"

Kirito glanced at Ne Anbu before looking at the dead body of Shimura Danzo, "We go back and report to the Hokage, then go home and get some rest."

Kirito then walked to Sai. The Ne Anbu nodded to the swordsman, "Thank you, Kirito."

The swordsman raised an eyebrow, "You know about me?"

Sai nodded, "Yes... Danzo-sama has been keeping an eye on you and your family for some time now. Unfortunately..."

The operative glanced at his dead master before looking at the blank faces of his fellow Ne Anbu. Kirito nodded, "I see, I'm sorry for your loss."

Sai shook his head, "I... We aren't sad, we have no emotions. But, I feel... lost."

The swordsman nodded, deciding not to pry before he said, "We're going back, can you help the injured back, and carry the bodies as well?"

Sai turned to look at the other Anbu before he nodded, "Yes, of course."

(linebreak)

A while later, in the Hokage's office, Tsunade sighed after Kirito and the girls, along with Sai, gave their report. The Hokage said, "So... that old bastard went in and got himself killed."

Sai nodded, "Yes."

Tsunade rubbed her temples, "Fine, your name is Sai, right?"

The pale man nodded, "That was the code name Danzo-sama gave me before his demise, yes."

The Hokage sighed, "Okay, then keep using it. Go get some rest, I'll sort things out and tell you."

Sai nodded before he bowed, "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade nodded as the former Ne Anbu left the room. The woman then looked at the other occupants in the room, "Well, at least you cleared another floor. Good work."

Hikari asked, "So, what now?"

Tsunade smirked as she leaned back in her chair, "What else? We continue. That old warhawk has been a thorn since Sarutobi-sensei's time."

Her face turned serious, "While we couldn't find any proof, we knew he was doing things behind our backs,e even if it was for the village. But no one could simply point fingers at him."

Tsunade looked out the window, "But now he's dead. That's one problem solved. Though I still have to find out who was involved in his personal squads."

The blonde looked at them, "Go home and get some rest. Yui must be worried sick."

The five nodded and thanked the Hokage before they left the room. Tsunade sighed as the door closed, "Well, I suppose a small funeral wouldn't be too much. Regardless of him being twisted in his ways, Danzo still worked for the village."

The Hokage then opened her drawer and took out a file, "Well, since we're nearing the 100th floor, I suppose it's time to call him back, and hopefully deal with that idiot's disease."

She opened the folder, showing the data of one Uchiha Itachi, more specifically, the details on his disease.

XXX

Done. Review please. So, Danzo is dead. I swapped Korbatz with him. What do you guys think about that?

So yeah, guess what the next chapter is...

Until then, ciao.


	52. Chapter 52

Hey, so... This is the 52nd chapter.

 **TheB** , your idea is similar to what I have in mind. I'll probably be using that, but I'm still thinking for any better ideas. Thanks man.

 **Antex-The Legendary Zoroark** , thanks, glad you liked that. And well, not exactly like how they did it in canon, but still something to clear things up.

So yeah, here's the chapter.

XXX

That night after Kirito and the girls cleared the 74th floor, a figure stood on the Sandaime Hokage's head, watching over the village. The figure was a man, wearing a weasel Anbu mask with the standard Anbu armor.

The man thought as he looked down at the village, 'Its time.'

With a swirl of leaves, the man vanished from view.

A short while later, in the Hokage's office, Tsunade sighed, "So, you're here, Itachi."

The woman turned and saw the man standing by the window, wearing his weasel mask and the standard Anbu armor.

The clan slayer tilted his head before removing his mask, "Hokage-sama."

Tsunade nodded and activated the seals around her, "I already sent my Anbu guards away, we can talk in private now."

Itachi nodded and walked to stand in front of Tsunade, "I heard Danzo's dead."

The Hokage nodded, "Yes, that old bastard got himself killed in Aincrad."

She frowned, "And he had a lot of Sharingan eyes in his arm, along with one in his eye."

Itachi nodded, "I see. So, where are those eyes now?"

Tsunade nodded, "I stored them in a vault in the hospital."

Itachi nodded, "I see. Did you recover the one in Danzo's eye?"

The Senju nodded, "Yes, of course. Why?"

The Uchiha said, "That's Shisui's eye. It has access to a powerful Genjutsu. I have the other eye with me."

Tsunade nodded, "I see. Do you want it back?"

Itachi shook his head, "Not yet, we'll see how things go. You wanted me to help out with clearing the remaining floors of Aincrad, right?"

The woman nodded, "Yes, the upper floors are, no doubt, gonna be harder than ever. I wish to reduce as many casualties as possible."

Itachi chuckled silently, "Last I checked, Kirito, Sasuke and the others are doing quite well. Even without me, there wouldn't be many casualties."

The Uchiha stared at the Hokage in the eye, "You called me back to heal my disease and bring me back into the village."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "And yet you're here?"

Itachi walked to the window, "Frankly... I'm... tired."

The last Senju nodded, "I see. So, will you return to our ranks?"

Itachi turned away from the window and nodded, "I went through all that trouble to get Kisame off of me, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. But before that, I want to settle things with my brother."

Tsunade nodded before she looked at Itachi, "I understand. But, before that, I want to take a look at your condition, and I won't take a no."

The man stared at the woman for a while before he sighed, "Very well."

Tsunade smirked, "Let's go."

Itachi blinked as Tsunade stood up before she grabbed his shoulder with surprising speed. Then the Senju proceeded to drag the Uchiha out of the office to the hospital.

Itachi, who didn't have his Sharingan active, just sighed and let the woman drag him away as he put on his mask.

(linebreak)

The next morning, as the squads were scrambled to scout the 75th floor, in the Uchiha compound, Sasuke woke up and found a small note on his night stand.

As soon as he read the note, the Uchiha's eyes widened as he quickly went to get his equipment.

As the young Uchiha approached the gates, Izumo greeted, "Yo, Sasuke, where you goin?"

Sasuke stopped in front of the counter, "Aincrad, the 75th floor."

Izumo nodded and noted it down, "Okay, good luck man."

When the man looked up, Sasuke was already gone. Izumo blinked as he scratched the back of his neck, "Hmm... Whatever..."

The guard just sat down and brought out a familiar orange book and giggled as he read on while waiting for his partner to come back from his toilet break.

Meanwhile, at the same time, Tsunade was talking to Kakashi, Kirito and Hikari. The Hokage looked at the three, "Yesterday, I called Itachi to return to our ranks. Contrary to most beliefs, Itachi didn't go rogue and kill his clan."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow, "Hmm, so, I guess it was under orders?"

Tsunade nodded, "Yes. The Uchiha clan was planning a coup de tat, so Sarutobi-sensei, along with the elders, ordered him to kill the whole clan."

Hikari frowned, "But, what about Sasuke?"

The Senju nodded, "In exchange for killing his clan, Itachi wanted Sasuke to be left alone. That's also why Danzo left Sasuke alone for as long as he did."

Kakashi's eye widened, "I see. That makes sense now!"

Kakashi knew exactly how Danzo worked. That warhawk would use every asset available to him, and Kakashi wondered why the old man didn't bring Sasuke into his personal forces.

But if Itachi made a deal with Danzo, then it would make sense. Itachi knew too much, and at the same time, too strong for Danzo to take out. So the old man could only abide to Itachi's terms.

Hikari and Kirito, on the other hand, were slightly confused. Kirito asked, "What do you mean?"

Tsunade answered, "Itachi knew too much, and he was too strong, so there were many things Itachi could do to obstruct Danzo's plans."

The Senju sighed and said, "But that's another story for another time. Long story short, Itachi is still a loyal ninja of Konoha. But now, he wants to settle things with Sasuke before coming back."

Kirito said, "I sense a but."

Tsunade nodded, "Itachi is sick, and his treatment would take quite an amount of time. But that idiot wanted to settle things with his brother today."

Hikari nodded before she asked, "So, what do you want us to do?"

Tsunade looked at the three, "Right now, Itachi is waiting for Sasuke on the 75th floor. I want you three to make sure those two brothers don't kill each other, and bring them back safely."

Kakashi, Kirito and Hikari nodded, the cyclops said, "Got it."

Tsunade nodded, "Leave now, I'm sure Sasuke's on his way to Aincrad as we speak."

The three nodded and quickly left the room, heading for the gate to Aincrad.

Meanwhile, on the 75th floor, Sasuke leaped out of the village and kept running. The Uchiha could feel Itachi's chakra clearly now, and he was using it to find the man.

Soon, Sasuke reached a large gate, and he immediately recognised the boss room. Standing in front of the gate, was one Uchiha Itachi, clad in his Akatsuki robes.

Itachi said, "Sasuke."

Sasuke took a breath and calmed himself, "Itachi. Why do you want?"

The elder Uchiha spoke, "I believe its time we settle things. I gave you quite some time, didn't I?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes before he said, "Before that, I have something I want to ask you."

Itachi raised an eyebrow but didn't say a word. Sasuke asked, "Why did you kill our clan?"

The elder Uchiha tilted his head, "Why? I told you, I wanted to test the limits of my power. Nothing more, nothing less."

Sasuke glared at his brother, "Don't give me that shit. I know that's bullshit. No matter how strong you are, you cannot possibly kill our clan in one night. Tell me the truth! "

Itachi stared at his brother blankly, "There is no truth."

He tilted his head and looked at his brother in the eye, "But, I see you have casted aside your hatred."

Sasuke glared at him again, "Don't change the subject!"

Itachi asked, "Then what do you want to know? How I killed our parents?"

Sasuke clenched his fists, "No, I want to know exactly why. You used to say you wanted to stop the fighting between villages. Someone like that will never kill without reason, especially not for something like testing your limits."

Itachi shook his head, "I see you still don't understand."

The younger Uchiha glared at him before he said, "Then I'll just have to beat it out of you."

The elder brother sighed, "I suppose so."

Sasuke immediately drew his chokuto and dashed forward, swinging his blade at Itachi's neck. But the elder Uchiha quickly drew a kunai and blocked the sword easily.

Itachi glanced at the sword, "This is Kirito's work, right?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "How did you know?"

The clan slayer pushed his brother away and flashed through a set of seals, "Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!"

Itachi swiftly shot a horse sized fireball at Sasuke, but the younger Uchiha merely dodged the fireball as Itachi said, "Kirito is a considerably well known blacksmith, of course I'd know one of his swords when I see one."

Itachi glanced behind him before looking at his brother, "Let's take this up a notch, shall we?"

The elder Uchiha activated his Mangekyou Sharingan, and Sasuke followed suit. The both of them then yelled, "AMATERATSU!"

Black flames burst into life between the brothers as their respective flames battled for dominance.

But as soon as they stopped using the Amateratsu, their eyes were forced back to their normal forms by the restrictive seals of Aincrad.

Itachi commented, "Not bad, Sasuke."

The younger brother growled and thrust his hand forward, "Chidori Eiso!"

The Chidori spear shot forward at Itachi, piercing through his chest. But to Sasuke's surprise Itachi merely burst into a dozen crows.

Then, Sasuke was pinned to the ground from behind by Itachi. The younger brother growled, "Chidori Nagashi!"

Itachi's eyes widened slightly as he quickly burst into a dozen crows just as Sasuke unleashed the Chidori from his whole body, reappearing several feet from them.

Sasuke glared at his brother, thinking of ways to defeat him. The Mangekyou was out. He couldn't maintain it for more than several minutes, so the Susano'o was also out.

The only things he could use were Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, and using Genjutsu against his brother was just useless.

Itachi hmph'd, "If you're not going to attack... Susano'o!"

Sasuke was broken out of thoughts as Itachi's eyes turned into the Mangekyou Sharingan, forming the astral form of the Susano'o.

Sasuke stared in shock as the Susano'o towered over him. The younger Uchiha had not expected his brother to be able to use his Mangekyou anymore due to the restriction seals.

Itachi willed his avatar of chakra to raise its sword, staring down at his brother. Then he swung the sword.

Sasuke cursed as he leaped away, dodging the sword barely as he glared at his brother. He quickly flashed through a set of seals and yelled, "Raiton: Raiju Tsuiga!"

The lightning wolf shot towards the flame entity, slamming into it. But the attack didn't even leave a crack on it.

Sasuke tch'd as he jumped up to avoid another slash. He needed an opening, and merely attacking wouldn't work. The younger man thought, 'I need him to let his guard down.'

Sasuke looked at the red Susano'o, 'And the only way to do that...'

The younger Uchiha focused, and managed to pull out the Mangekyou Sharingan. Then he charged, forming a Chidori in his hand.

Itachi raised an eyebrow as he saw Sasuke charge in recklessly. The elder Uchiha willed the Susano'o to raise the Totsuka no Tsurugi, and swung down. The man never noticed the purple glow as the sword struck his brother.

To Itachi's surprise, Sasuke didn't dodge. Instead, he took the attack straight on, causing a small explosion as the sword slammed onto Sasuke from above.

Itachi's eyes widened as he stood there. The smoke cleared, revealing Sasuke on the ground, smoking. The elder Uchiha quickly dispelled his Susano'o and went to check on his brother.

Just as Itachi reached Sasuke, the elder Uchiha's eyes widened as Sasuke got up, a Chidori in his hand, and swung the attack at his brother.

It was then Itachi realized what Sasuke had done. The younger Uchiha was far, far inferior when it came to his mastery over the Mangekyou Sharingan.

That was why Sasuke, along with Kakashi, couldn't manifest his Mangekyou Sharingan in Aincrad for more than a few minutes. Itachi didn't have that problem.

So the younger Uchiha had to use another way to attack Itachi. The simplest way was to get him to let his guard down, and the best way was for Sasuke to let himself seemingly get hit.

So right before Itachi's sword struck Sasuke, the younger brother brought out part of his Susano'o, but not too strong to have not taken any damage.

There was also another factor, one Sasuke didn't know of. It was the fact that Itachi was still the caring brother he always was, and that was what made Itachi put his guard down.

Now, Sasuke roared as he thrust the Chidori at Itachi's heart. But right when the Chidori was about to strike him, Sasuke suddenly found himself unable to move as Itachi jumped away.

The two Uchiha's eyes widened as they saw the familiar chains restricting Sasuke's movements before they heard a familiar female voice, "That's enough, don't you think, Itachi?"

The two Uchiha turned to see Hikari, Kakashi and Kirito. Sasuke said in surprise, "Kakashi-sensei, Hikari, Kirito? What are you three doing here?"

Itachi merely stared at them as Kirito said, "To keep you two from killing each other, or rather, to keep you from killing Itachi, Sasuke."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?!"

Kakashi sighed, "You still haven't told him, Itachi?"

Itachi merely stared at him, "It wasn't necessary."

The younger Uchiha glared at them, "What do you mean?!"

Hikari let out a breath as she released her chains, "Itachi killed the Uchiha clan under orders, Sasuke."

The young man's eyes widened in shock as his head snapped over to Itachi, "W-what?!"

The elder Uchiha sighed as Hikari continued, "Your clan was planning to a coup d'état. So the Sandaime and Danzo ordered him to assassinate the Uchiha clan to prevent a civil war."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "How do you know all that?"

The Uzumaki answered, "Tsunade-baachan told us. After killing your clan, Itachi worked as a spy for Konoha, with Jiraiya-sensei. Keeping you alive and safe was one of the terms for him to work for the Hokage."

Kirito nodded, "Everything he did was to protect you, Sasuke. If Itachi hadn't killed your clan, a civil war would have happened, and you would be caught right in the middle of it."

Sasuke turned to his brother, "Is it true?"

Itachi sighed, "I suppose it can't be helped."

The elder Uchiha nodded, "Yes, our father and the elders was planning to overthrow the Hokage. That would have lead to a civil war, and even worse, other villages would invade Konoha. I could not allow that."

Sasuke clenched his fists, "Then... It was necessary to kill all of them?!"

Itachi nodded, "Yes, it was. If I left anyone else alive, they would hate the village. The cycle of hatred would continue."

The younger Uchiha growled, "Then what about me?!"

Itachi closed his eyes, "As Hikari said, it was to protect you. By leaving you alive alone, and killing the clan under the guise of going mad over power, you would have been spared the animosity from the village."

The elder brother opened his eyes and stared at Sasuke, "Then, you would redeem our clan by killing me. And you would rebuild our clan."

The younger brother clenched his fists. Then he gave Itachi a hard punch to the face, sending him to the ground.

Sasuke breathed heavily, trying to control his anger, "So, all this time, you were only acting under orders, and everything you did was for me."

Itachi slowly got up, but he didn't answer. The silence was all the confirmation Sasuke needed.

The younger Uchiha continued as he grabbed Itachi by the collar, "You let yourself be hunted, and you lived as a nuke nin while working as a spy. Most importantly, you made me hate you! Have you ever thought about how I felt?!"

Itachi's eyes widened slightly as he saw tears trailing down Sasuke's cheeks. The elder brother smiled slightly before he poked Sasuke's forehead, "Forgive me... Sasuke."

Sasuke just let go of his brother, "I don't even know what to do now... You killed everyone, but you did it for me..."

Hikari walked over to them and pulled the two brothers to their feet, "Okay, you two can sort things out later. Now we have to get you two back to the village so Tsunade-baachan can take care of Itachi's condition."

Hikari nodded before she glanced at Kirito, "I'll leave Kakashi to you, okay, Kirito-kun."

Kirito blinked, "Wait, wha-"

Without waiting for him to finish, Kirito and Kakashi were blinded by a yellow flash as Hikari, Sasuke and Itachi vanished from sight.

Kirito sighed, "Dammit..."

Kakashi chuckled before he looked at Kirito expectantly, "So, what are you waiting for?"

Kirito sighed and said, "Fine."

The swordsman grabbed Kakashi's shoulder and they vanished in a burst of blue particles.

(linebreak)

A while later, in the Hokage's office, Tsunade stared at the two Uchihas, with Kirito, Hikari and Kakashi standing behind them, "So, have you got things sorted out?"

Itachi and Sasuke nodded, though the latter did it a tad bit slower. Sasuke asked, "So, what now?"

Tsunade nodded, "Hmm, I will be bringing back Itachi into our ranks, either an Anbu, or a Jounin. Of course, if Itachi becomes a Jounin, I will have to reveal everything about the Uchiha clan to the world."

Itachi glanced at Sasuke, "What do you want to do, Sasuke?"

The younger Uchiha closed his eyes. Itachi had given up everything for him. Sasuke knew, if Itachi hadn't killed the Uchiha clan, he knew Itachi would still have a very bright future. Hell, if he wanted to, Itachi could probably become Hokage.

But Itachi had killed every member of the Uchiha clan, aside from him, just to prevent a civil war, just to save him from a war. And for that, Itachi had to live in the shadows.

The younger Uchiha made his choice, and he opened his eyes, "Go ahead. Reveal everything and have Itachi instated as a Jounin."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure, Sasuke?"

Sasuke nodded, "If they can't accept it, then that's their problem. Itachi's been living in the shadows for far too long."

Itachi blinked slightly, the only sign of his surprise. Tsunade nodded, "True. Very well, I'll have Itachi become a Jounin, and I'll reveal everything tomorrow."

Itachi then said, "I see..."

The Hokage nodded, "Now, you're all dismissed. Itachi, you're coming to the hospital with me."

As Tsunade stood up, Itachi said, "Yeah, before that. We found the boss room for the 75th floor."

Tsunade just sighed and nodded.

(linebreak)

Later that afternoon, several teams gathered in front of the boss room of the 75th floor. As soon as word had gotten to the other four kages, they had agreed to send troops to defeat the boss.

From Konoha, were team Kakashi, team Yugao, Kirito, Nagato, Itachi under the disguise of a solo Anbu and team Kurenai, though Kurenai herself was absent and instead replaced by Fuu.

From Kiri were Zabuza, Choujuro, Ao and three random teams of Jounin.

From Kumogakure, were Killer Bee, C, Darui, Omoi, Karui, Samui, Atsui and several other Jounin.

From Suna, Kankuro and Temari both each lead a squad, along with a third squad of Jounin with them.

From Iwagakure, Kurotsuchi, Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi all each lead a Jounin squad.

Now, all the squads stood in front of the gates. Kankuro glanced at the Konoha ninja with them, and he said to his sister quietly, "Hey, with all those people from Konoha, do you think we are needed here?"

Temari frowned, "Quiet... Yes, they can probably take care of the boss, but we still have to make appearances... Just stay out of their way and stay alive."

Killer Bee, Zabuza and Kakashi stood in front by the door and nodded to each other. Zabuza spoke aloud, "Let's go."

The swordsman pushed open the door, and the squads from all five villages quickly moved in, scanning the area as they waited for the boss' appearance.

As the squads all entered the room, the torches around them all lit up, and everyone became alert, looking everywhere for the boss.

For a minute, nothing happened, until someone yelled, "Up there!"

Everyone looked up and were shocked to see a beast that resembled a skeletal centipede with an elongated skull for a head and red shining eyes.

On the ceiling, were the words 'The Skull Reaper'. Then skeleton dropped.

Kakashi yelled as he turned and dashed away, "Move!"

Everyone quickly ran as the skeletal centipede dropped onto the ground, causing a huge boom and forming a cloud of dust.

Darui yelled, "Stay sharp! Find any weaknesses, and stay alive!"

The shinobi all slowly moved around, away from the cloud of smoke, knowing that the Skull Reaper was within the cloud of dust. Then, all of a sudden, something shot out from the dust.

A jounin from Iwagakure screamed in pain and agony as he was sliced in half by a blade from the dust. The same thing happened to another Kiri Jounin.

Suguha tch'd and nodded to Yugao, and they quickly unleashed a wave of wind from their swords. The act was followed by Temari and her squad with their fans, clearing the dust immediately.

Then they saw it. The Skull Reaper. It was twice the size of a normal boss, and it glowered down at the ninja in front of it.

Sakura said in horror, "How the hell can we beat that?"

Fuu frowned, "We'll just have to try."

Kakashi nodded as he yelled, "Everyone spread out! Search for any weak spots and hit it hard!"

Kirito glanced at Sasuke and the Uchiha nodded. Then to everyone's surprise, the two charged forward, several swords appearing around Kirito.

Hikari frowned as she threw her Hiraishin kunai all over the place," Those idiots!"

Kirito grinned as he threw the Dark Repulsor at the Skull Reaper. The skeletal centipede growled and parried the sword, sending it up.

But that was exactly what Kirito wanted. The swordsman grabbed Sasuke by the shoulder and they vanished in a burst of blue particles.

In an instant, the two appeared right above the Skull Reaper. Kirito grabbed the Dark Repulsor and yelled, "Let's go, Sasuke!"

The Uchiha just smirked as they fell towards the skeletal centipede. Sasuke channeled a Chidori into his chokuto as Kirito spun, channelling a sword skill, "DOUBLE CIRCULAR!"

The two swordsmen slashed at the boss, causing it to growl in pain as it spun in an attempt to counterattack. But Kirito and Sasuke were already gone, reappearing some distance away on the ground, where one of Kirito's copied swords floated.

Zabuza yelled, "Let's go! We can't let those two get all the action!"

Immediately, all of the ninja snapped out of it, and they started to attack from the sides, some of the stronger ones like Kakashi and Zabuza attacking from the front occasionally.

For a while things went well, everyone kept their distance and attacked the Skull Reaper on random intervals, avoiding its attacks. The attacks from the ninjas also started to wear the boss down.

Then, the Skull Reaper roared, and it suddenly swung its scythe arms at several shinobi in front of it. It would have killed them, had Nagato not been in front of it. The Rinnegan user roared, "SHINRA TENSEI!"

The gravitational repulsion blew the scythe arm away, causing the boss to roar before it started stampeding all over the room with impressive speed.

Kurotsuchi yelled as she sped through a set of seals, "Yōton: Sekkaigyō no Jutsu!"

The girl spat out quicklime onto the ground, right as the Skull Reaper was stampeded over it, stopping it right in its tracks. That gave Hikari the chance to wrap her chains around the boss.

The Skull Reaper roared as it struggled against the chains and the quicklime, and Hikari winced slightly as she could feel the chains slowly, but surely loosing.

Hikari yelled, "Now! I can't hold it long!"

Everyone went to attack. But Sasuke approached his brother, "Weasel, how long can you use the complete Suasano'o?"

Itachi glanced at his brother, "If its the Perfect Susano'o, I'd say three minutes, maybe more."

Sasuke nodded, "Good, we'll try to keep it occupied, and after that, you kill it."

Itachi nodded behind his mask, "Got it."

As soon as Itachi nodded, the Skull Reaper roared and broke out of the chains. As the centipede flailed around, trying to attack the ninja around it, Sasuke activated the Mangekyou Sharingan and yelled, "AMATERATSU!"

Black flames burst into existence on the Skull Reaper, further damaging the skeletal centipede, along with the attacks from the other ninja.

Then, Itachi spoke as he activated his Mangekyou Sharingan, "Susano'o."

The orange ethereal entity appeared, glaring down at the skeleton. Then, Itachi's Susano'o raised the Totsuka no Tsurugi.

The Skull Reaper growled at the sight of the Susano'o, while everyone was surprised, though the ones who knew of this technique were surprised that someone managed to use it.

The boss tried to attack the avatar, but was stopped as Hikari summoned her chains to restrain the beast. Then, Itachi swung his blade.

Luckily, everyone who had been in the line of fire had wisely moved away as soon as Itachi raised his blade, and the Totsuka no Tsurugi cleanly sliced the skeletal centipede in half.

As the skeletal centipede burst into blue particles, Itachi dispelled his Susano'o, landing on the ground softly as the words 'CONGRATULATIONS' appeared in the air.

Itachi glanced around and saw looks/nods of respect from almost everyone. Nagato just gave him a knowing look, but didn't say anything.

Itachi just took it in stride, not really caring. Though it did feel good to get some recognition once in a while.

On the hundredth floor, Kayaba chuckled. Now, Nagato and Itachi had officially joined the battle to clear Aincrad. Well, they were actually ahead of schedule, exceeding his expectations. But then, he should have expected this.

The man then turned and sat down on a chair, looking forward to their final battle on the hundredth floor.

(linebreak)

The next day, Tsunade had revealed the truth about the Uchiha massacre to the village, and by extension, the whole world.

Needless to say, the villagers were rather upset at having the truth hidden from them yet again. While some of them were reluctant to accept Itachi, most of them, after knowing the truth, decided that he should get a second chance.

Of course, some words from Hikari and Sasuke did help. And now, Itachi was officially a Jounin in Konoha again and his name was removed from the Bingo Books as a nuke nin.

Now, team Kakashi, team Yugao, team Kurenai, team Asuma, Kirito, Itachi, Nagato and Konan were in the park, watching Yui play with other kids.

Itachi said, "Who knew we'd all end up in Konoha, right, Nagato, Konan?"

The Rinnegan user chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, well, this isn't so bad after all."

Konan nodded, "And apart from Tobi, the Akatsuki is over."

Hikari blinked as she asked, "Hey, Itachi, what happened to Kisame?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah, I'm curious too."

A rare smile appeared on the elder Uchiha's face, "Well..."

(flashback)

Right before Itachi returned to Konoha to meet Tsunade, Itachi and Kisame were resting in an inn in a random village near Konohagakure.

The two had continued wearing the Akatsuki robes even after they heard that Pein was defeated.

Itachi read the note he had gotten from the Hokage via messenger hawk before he slipped it into his cloak.

The Uchiha then turned, seeing that his partner's sword was leaning against the wall, far from the bed Kisame was lying on.

Itachi spoke, "Hey, Kisame, Pein is gone, and the Akatsuki is over. What are you going to do?"

Kisame shrugged, "Who knows... Probably continue as a nuke nin?"

The Uchiha nodded, "I see."

The sharkman asked, "Then, what are you gonna do?"

The Uchiha kept silent, and Kisame asked again, "Itachi?"

The man got off of his bed and walked to his partner. Then Itachi said, "Sorry about this... Tsukuyomi."

Inside the Genjutsu, Kisame blinked as he looked around, "Oi Itachi! What is this?!"

The shark didn't receive any answer, instead, his surroundings changed, showing a rather pink room. Then, the man heard a voice, a male voice, speaking in a rather feminine yet loud manner, "Kisame-kun!"

The door slammed open, and the shark man could only scream in terror, as a naked man walked. And more importantly, that man, was none other than... Might Gai.

Outside the Genjutsu, Itachi winced as he heard Kisame scream in terror. The Uchiha silently made two clones and nodded to them.

The clones immediately moved and picked up the shark man before moving out of the room.

Itachi turned and sealed the Samehada into a scroll before he went to change into his Anbu armor.

(flashback end)

Itachi said, "I'm sure he's in good hands."

Somewhere in a random room, Kisame opened his eyes groggily. The shark man's eyes widened as he took in the sight in front of him.

Beside him, were two naked, hairy men and not to mention muscular, all sweaty and covered in suspicious liquid.

Kisame did what any sane man would do, he screamed in fear as he tried to get out of the room. But that only served to wake up the two men.

One of them said in a husky voice, "Kisame, where are you going?"

The other nodded, "Let's continue from last night."

Kisame yelped as he tried to run, but the two men grabbed the S-ranked nuke nin with iron grips. The shark could only scream in terror as he was traumatised for the rest of his life.

Back in Konoha, Itachi blinked as he remembered. The Uchiha brought out a scroll and tossed it to Kirito, "Here."

The swordsman raised an eyebrow, "What is this?"

Itachi replied, "The Samehada, I believe you would be the best one to know how to handle this."

Kirito grinned and nodded, "Thanks."

Then, they all heard Yui's voice, "Papa!"

Everyone turned as Yui ran over to them. Kirito knelt down to her level, "What's wrong?"

The girl pulled on her 'father's arm, "Come on, I want you to push my swing!"

Kirito stumbled as the girl pulled, "Woah, okay okay, just wait a sec."

The girl let go as Kirito pocketed the scroll and gave the others an apologetic look, "Sorry, I'll talk later."

The man then followed his 'daughter' over to the swings and started to push her on the swing.

Sasuke smirked and said, "Kirito's starting to get good with kids, right?"

Asuna nodded, "Yeah... Well, we have Yui after all, so I guess he would learn how to deal with them."

Ino grinned and said, "Speaking of kids, when are you and Sakura gonna have one, Sasuke?"

Sasuke just spluttered as Sakura merely blushed, both not willing to say anything as they knew it would only serve to make it worse.

Itachi let out a small chuckle as he watched the others bicker around while Kirito played with Yui. While he didn't show it, Itachi was grateful for the turn of events, and he hoped things would only stay the same in the future.

XXX

Okay, done. So Itachi is back in Konoha now. So, the next chapters will be the end of the Aincrad arc, and I'll finish up this arc with the next chapter or two.

Review please. Until then.


	53. Chapter 53

Hey, this is the 53rd chapter.

Now, to where Uzumaki Karin is, well, as of now, she's still in Orochimaru's facility acting as a guard. She'll come in when I have Sasuke, Itachi, Sakura and Kakashi go on a mission to scout out that facility.

That will probably be the next chapter, or a side chapter since none of 'main focus' characters won't be there.

 **TheB** , yes, a Genjutsu with a naked gay Guy, and then sending him to two hairy and muscular male prostitutes... Well, it can be safe to say that Kisame will be traumatised for life, and he won't be appearing for a while now.

So... Here's the final chapter for the Aincrad arc. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

XXX

A few weeks passed, and the five nations had finally cleared 99 floors of Aincrad.

On the hundredth floor, inside the castle, Kayaba glanced out of the window and saw the small army of ninja from all five nations.

The man had to give it to them, they had cleared all floors faster than he had expected, and they had a few weeks left before the time limit was up.

Kayaba smirked and looked at the panel. The man had been planning to use a weaker final boss, and that was the boss the Anbu had gathered infor on, but since they had progressed faster than he had expected, Kayaba didn't need to hold back too much.

Kayaba swiftly replaced the weaker boss with the one he had originally planned to use, one he had designed, one bearing the same name as the structure they were standing on.

An Incarnation of the Radius. Aincrad.

Kayaba smirked again, 'Let's see how you do against this, Kirito.'

Back with the small army, everyone stood in front of the castle. This time, Itachi was with them, without his Anbu mask.

His entry in the Bingo Book had been removed, and he was marked as a loyal ninja of Konoha. Although most were accepting or indifferent to him, not everyone could accept it, but that's another story for another time.

Now, Jiraiya stood in front of the massive doors of the castle. The man turned and nodded to the leaders of the squads from the other villages, who nodded back, before he turned to the small army in front of him.

Jiraiya took a deep breath and said, "We're finally here, on the 100th floor. According to the Anbu, this one is stronger than the ones we fought, but that's to be expected. I don't think I have to say much, but, I expect you all to do your best, and stay alive!"

The army roared in agreement as Jiraiya turned, nodding to Killer Bee, Zabuza, Kitsuchi, Ao and Kankuro. Then the sage pushed open the gates, showing a dark room.

Then, everyone entered.

As soon as everyone stepped in, to their surprise, the ninja all found themselves falling. Then they saw it, the massive beast.

It was mostly white, with a feminine face but the body of a monster. All in all, it looked like a combination of a goddess and a monster. More importantly, it looked nothing like the boss from the information from the Anbu.

As they descended, the massive words, 'An Incarnation of the Radius', appeared behind the monster.

The beast's eyes turned to them, and Jiraiya yelled, "Brace yourselves!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, Aincrad moved. It grabbed its sword and spear, and swung, slamming into several Jounin, sending them crashing into the walls.

The others quickly landed, and Kirito yelled, "Let's go!"

The ninja all roared in agreement as they spread out and charged the boss.

Aincrad roared, and to their surprise, seven beams/tentacles shot out from its back, slamming into several of the ninja, sending them back, but luckily not killing them.

The beams continued to push several of the ninja back, but others, like Kirito, Kakashi and the others managed to push through, and they attacked.

Kirito, Sasuke, Suguha, Kakashi and most swordsmen swung their swords, while most others used weapons or close ranged jutsu, and in the Hyugas' case, Juuken strikes.

But to their shock, their attacks stopped, a barely visibile barrier forming in front of them. Then it blew them away.

Aincrad roared and stomped on the ground, causing massive roots to sprout out from the ground. Kakashi cursed as they jumped around to avoid them, "Mokuton jutsu?!"

The man landed and glanced at one of the Anbu with them, "Tenzo!"

The Anbu nodded and clasped his hands together, "Mokuton!"

Immediately, Tenzo's chakra extended to the roots from Aincrad. For a moment, the boss was surprised to feel someone fight it for control over its roots, and Tenzo managed to push against Aincrad's chakra so much that the roots stopped moving.

Aincrad roared, momentarily ignoring the damage from everyone else and sent one of its beams at Tenzo, knocking him straight into a wall.

Then, the beast roared again, slammed its spear onto the ground, sending a massive shockwave that sent everyone stumbling.

Then, to everyone's surprise, pieces of rock rose from the ground and started shooting out randomly, trapping them, Tenzo being one of them.

Several ninja tried to help them, but the rocks wouldn't budge. Hikari tch'd as she quickly made a Rasenshuriken, "Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!"

The blonde threw her shuriken-like jutsu, being one of the only jutsu to actually have some effect on the bosses.

The completed form of the Rasengan slammed onto Aincrad's barrier, and after a brief moment, smashed right through it. Hikari yelled, "Now!"

Everyone charged, with Liz being one of them as she, along with several of her friends that held maces, smashed Aincrad's face, causing it to roar in pain.

Before the boss could recover, Kirito, Suguha, Asuna and Yugao came down from above, slashing at Aincrad's face, causing it to roar in pain yet again.

But they weren't done. Right as Aincrad managed to regain its bearings, it felt a small sting on its cheeks as several arrows embedded themselves in the boss' face, the explosion tags already hissing.

The beast roared in pain as the tags went off, leaving a rather huge scorch mark on its cheeks.

Then, right as everyone were about to attack again, Aincrad roared, slamming its spear onto the ground again, this time reforming its barrier as it leaped away with speeds that wasn't possible for something its size.

Then, behind it, a massive tree that was taller than Aincrad itself, appeared, or rather, grew rapidly from the ground until it towered over the boss.

Killer Bee narrowed his eyes and yelled, "Prepare yourselves FOOLS!"

Everyone braced themselves, preparing to dodge or defend themselves from any attacks Aincrad may send.

But to their surprise and confusion, the only thing that happened, was a droplet of water falling from a leaf, splashing onto Aincrad's head.

Then in a blink of an eye, every single wound, be it bruises or slashes, vanished from its body, revealing a fully healed Aincrad. Zabuza gaped, "It healed itself?!"

Asuna frowned, "This is bad..."

Sinon narrowed her eyes as the tree retracted to the ground, "Just now, it healed after the tree dropped a drop of water onto its head..."

As they were about to continue, they heard Kiba yell, "Don't just stand there, its coming!"

Sinon and Asuna quickly jumped up just in time as another root smashed onto the spot where they were.

As everyone dodged the attacks, Tenten yelled, "This is getting nowhere!"

Neji yelled back as he pushed one of the beams away with a Hakke Kusho, "There must be some weakness!"

Tenten was about to shout back when Hikari flung another Rasenshuriken at Aincrad, this time enforced by Nagato's Shinra Tensei. The Rasenshuriken tore right through the barrier again, and Nagato yelled, "Now!"

Everyone didn't let the chance slip, as they charged straight in, sending waves of attacks at the goddess/monster, causing it roar in pain.

Then, Jiraiya leaped up with a Chou Odama Rasengan in his hands, while Itachi manifested his Susano'o with his Totsuka no Tsurugi. Kirito followed suit, unleashing the memories of the Elucidator and Dark Repulsor, forming a huge blade of light.

Aincrad roared as it sensed the power in the three attacks and tried to send its beams to stop them, but Hikari had already wrapped her chains around the boss, pulling it down before it could do anything.

Then, Jiraiya came down with the massive Rasengan, the sphere of destruction grinding against Aincrad, forcing it the ground. Kirito and Itachi followed, swinging their swords at Aincrad's shoulders, and cleanly sliced off its arms.

The combination of a goddess and a monster roared in pain as its upper limbs fell to the ground along with its weapons. The loss of its limbs seemed to anger it as it roared again and stomped its feet, sending its beams and roots all over the place.

That also broke the chains holding Aincrad in place. Before anyone could react, the boss backed away to the edge the room and reformed its barrier, the tree growing behind it.

As the droplet started to form, Hinata's eyes widened as she realised what it was about to do, and she yelled, "THAT DROP OF WATER! STOP IT!"

Immediately, everyone fired every projectile attack they had. Weapons, elemental ninjutsu, everything. That was their mistake.

The attacks stopped the droplet from even falling half the distance to the beast's forehead. And that was exactly what Aincrad wanted, even if it didn't regenerate its limbs.

To everyone's shock, the attacks, while having stopped the droplet, didn't disperse in an explosion that would normally occur from a collision of so many attacks.

Instead, the attacks, including weapons, were all absorbed into a single point right above its head. To make it worse, Aincrad was also feeding it its chakra, forming what was essentially a massive Bijuudama.

Inside all of the Jinchurikii, Kurama and the Bijuu all warned their hosts to defend themselves, sensing the power behind that sphere of energy.

Bee yelled as he formed a massive and thick earth wall in front of him, "DEFENSIVE ACTIONS! NOW!"

But it was too late. Before any of the ninja could react, Aincrad unleashed, or rather, detonated the sphere. Fortunately, around most of the ninja managed to at least form some sort of defense, be it earth domes, earth walls or water walls.

Some were protected by Hikari's chains, but some unlucky ones were caught in the blast, and the only proof that they ever existed was the ashes and scorch marks on the ground.

Kirito glanced around, everyone stood up from the attack. He frowned and stared at

Aincrad. Then Kirito subconsciously muttered, "I am the bone of my sword... TRACE... ON!"

Immediately, a yellow/bronze/golden sword appeared in his hands.

It was long sword with a slender form. Every part of the sword from the guard to the pommel seemed like they were made out of dazzling gold while the blade itself was dyed in a bright golden yellow distinctly more intense than the sword's scabbard. A cross-shape flower design decorated the sword's guard as the sword gleamed.

The sudden appearance of the sword surprised everyone, and everyone could feel the pressure coming from the sword.

Kirito stared at the sword, and a girl with long braided hair suddenly came to mind. He frowned and turned his attention to the beast in front of him.

As Aincrad roared, sending beams of energy at him, Kirito drew the sword, and spoke, "Enhance Armament."

Immediately, the blade burst into a thousand petals, blocking and cutting off the beams before they could hit or move past him.

Kirito then pointed the hilt at Aincrad, sending the thousand petals shooting at the boss, moving around it like a swarm of angry bees. Everytime the boss moved an inch, a cut would appear on its body.

Kirito glanced back and yelled, "Now!"

Everyone nodded and prepared their strongest attacks. Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Killer Bee prepared their Bijuudama, albeit with only the Bijuu's head materialised. Fuu and Suguha went into the Second Version of their Bijuu chakra cloak and prepared their mini Bijuudama.

Then, everyone unleashed their attacks, and Kirito roared, "RELEASE RECOLLECTION!"

Immediately, the petals multiplied, and they swirled around Aincrad with even more intensity, increasing the damage on the beast as all the jutsu smashed onto the boss.

As the attacks collided with the boss, it caused a huge explosion that blinded everyone.

After what seemed like eternity, the light died down, revealing nothing but pieces of what was originally Aincrad. Then, as usual, the words, 'CONGRATULATIONS' appeared in the air.

Everyone let out a breath as the words slowly faded away. A random Jounin from Kumo spoke shakily, "W-we won?"

After a moment, the fact that they finally cleared all 100 floors sank in, and everyone cheered in triumph.

But as soon as they started celebrating, Kayaba's voice boomed through the area, "Very well done, all of you."

Everyone turned as they saw Kayaba Akihiko landing on the ground softly. Kirito stared at his master, "Kayaba-sensei, we won."

The man nodded with a small smile, "Indeed you did, you defeated the boss of the 100th floor spectacularly. Now, a final test, for you, Kirito."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?"

Kayaba just smiled and snapped his fingers, and immediately, everyone around him fell to the ground. Kirito's eyes widened as he snapped his head at the man, glaring at him, "What are you doing?!"

Kayaba smiled, "A final test, Kirito. You defeat me, and you get the answers you seek."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, "And if I lose?"

Kayaba chuckled and spread his arms, "I do what I've been doing, or at least, what I've been planning. I destroy the world."

The younger blacksmith growled, "So, all we've done here, all of that was for nothing?"

The master chuckled, "No no no, I didn't mean it like that. You can say I'm part of the boss on the 100th floor."

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he glanced around. Everyone was paralysed, or at least, that's what he thought.

Kayaba seemed to realize what his protege was thinking and said, "They're fine. I merely used a paralysing seal. You beat me, and they'll be free."

Everyone stared at the swordsman, some confident he will win, some worried for him, some indifferent. Kirito glared at his teacher, "Very well."

Kayaba smirked and snapped his fingers, and Kirito instantly felt his energy and chakra return to him. The younger man narrowed his eyes, "What was that?"

Kayaba chuckled and drew his sword and shield, "I control everything in this structure, and I wanted a fair match with my student, so what better way than to restore you to your best?"

Kirito gripped his swords, "You'll regret that."

The older man just smirked, "Come."

Kirito immediately charged, swinging both blades from the right at his master. Kayaba merely raised his shield as the swords bounced off harmlessly from the shield.

But Kirito saw that coming and used the recoil from hitting the shield and spun, sending a slash from the left with both swords.

A loud clang reached everyone's ears as Kirito's swords clashed against Kayaba's sword. The master smiled, "You've gotten better."

Kirito just smirked before his eyes widened as he noticed Kayaba's shield moving. The man said, "But not good enough."

As the shield was about to slam into Kirito's side, the younger swordsman said quietly and quickly, "Trace on."

To Kayaba's surprise, a copy of the Kubikiribocho embedded itself into the ground, stopping his shield before Kirito spun and kicked him away.

Kirito then charged, his swords glowing as he channelled a sword skill, the Eclipse.

Kayaba just smirked as Kirito unleashed his skill. The man raised his shield as Kirito started hacking at it. The younger swordsman thought, 'Faster... FASTER!'

But right as Kirito went for a stab, the Dark Repulsor broke as it struck the shield, shocking everyone. Kayaba took advantage and quickly kicked Kirito away, causing the Dark Repulsor to drop to the ground.

Kayaba swiftly bashed Kirito with his shield, sending him to the ground. The older man taunted, "Is that all you got, Kirito?"

The black swordsman growled and gripped the Elucidator hard. He activated his mark and the Acceleration, then he charged forward.

Kayaba chuckled and activated the Acceleration himself before he charged forward too.

For the next moment, everyone saw a blur of orange and red as Kayaba and Kirito clashed blades multiple times.

As Kayaba blocked Kirito's slash and swung his blade, only to miss, the man thought, 'Not enough...'

Kayaba then channelled his chakra into the control panel, more specifically, a seal that controlled time inside Aincrad.

As soon as he activated the seal, the intended effect took hold, as Kirito suddenly slowed down, even with the red glow of the Acceleration. Then, Kayaba gave the young man a hard bash with his shield, sending Kirito to the ground yet again.

Kirito growled and got up, but Kayaba merely kicked his sword away, sending the Elucidator flying away before stabbing into the ground.

Kayaba asked again, "Is that all you got?"

Kirito growled and projected two copies of the Kubikiribocho, one in each hand, and he slashed at Kayaba.

But that wasn't what the man wanted, and Kayaba merely activated the time seal before parrying the swords, sending them flying away.

Kirito growled and projected several other swords, sometimes several at once. But the results were the same. Kayaba would only use the time seal to slow him down before destroying all the swords.

For the audience, if you could call them that, it was painful to watch as Kirito was repeatedly beaten to the ground, especially for Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha. They couldn't even say anything due to the paralysis seals.

Then, with Suguha, she suddenly heard Choumei-S' voice, "Suguha, I think I can break the paralysis seals."

Suguha's eyes barely widened, 'Are you serious?!'

Choumei-S nodded, "Yes, but we need to match our timing. Since we don't know where the seal is coming from, I can only place place something similar to a protective barrier around you for a limited time. But after that, you'll be unable to move again, at least until the seal is lifted. "

Suguha glanced at Kirito and nodded, 'Okay...'

Back with Kirito and Kayaba, the older man sighed as he kicked one of Kirito's swords away again, "I suppose its time we end this."

Kirito gritted his teeth as he stood up again. Every sword he projected, Kayaba would either break it or parry it away, and for some reason, his Acceleration was slowing down too.

Kayaba raised his sword, channelling a sword skill through it as it glowed red. Then, he swung the blade downwards.

Right as the blade moved towards Kirito's shoulder, a figure suddenly appeared between them, and before any of them could react, the blade slashed down onto the figure.

Only then they realize who that figure was. Kayaba's eyes widened in surprise, 'How?! The seals should've kept them from moving.'

Kirito's eyes widened as he quickly scrambled over to the girl, "S-suguha?! W-why?!"

The girl smiled weakly as blood seeped through her armor as Kirito lifted her into his arms, "I... wanted to protect you... Kirito-kun."

At that moment, the paralysis seals took hold again as the girl couldn't speak. More importantly, the seals Kayaba had used also prevented Choumei-S' chakra from healing her.

Kirito cursed and chanted, "Þú fylla heilagr austr, brott svalr bani!"

A green light engulfed Suguha, but the wounds only closed slightly, the bleeding not stopping at all. Kirito gritted his teeth and repeated the spell.

"Þú fylla heilagr austr, brott svalr bani!"

"Þú fylla heilagr austr, brott svalr bani!"

"Þú fylla heilagr austr, brott svalr bani!"

Kirito tried several more times, to no avail, until Suguha clasped his hands. The girl smiled weakly, "Protect... everyone... and... live..."

Kirito's eyes widened as her hand went slack, and the spark of life vanished from her eyes. With the others, especially Hikari, Sinon, Asuna and the people who knew Suguha, they screamed their head as they could move to help the girl.

As for Kayaba, he cursed himself for not having seen it coming. Jinchurikii had always been unpredictable after all. But what's done was done, and he could use this to push his student even further.

As Kirito held onto the girl, the man said coldly, "This is the result of your weakness, Kirito. That's why, you can never protect them."

Unknown to anyone, something inside Kirito snapped. He couldn't protect Suguha, because of him, she was dead. He had sworn on his blood that he would protect every one of the four girls he loved. And he had failed. At that moment, something woke up in him.

Kayaba raised his sword again before Kirito's voice stopped hom, anger evident in his voice as the young man slowly placed Suguha down onto the floor, "Shut up... I said SHUT UP!"

Kirito stood up and glared at his teacher, and Kayaba's eyes widened as he saw his eyes.

Kirito's eyes were yellow, but they weren't like how they previously were. The glow was far brighter than it had ever been, and a thick yellow aura surrounded the young man.

Then Kirito started to speak, his voice booming through the hall even though he was speaking rather softly, " **I am the bone of my sword**..."

The ground started to tremble as the young man spoke, and everyone was shocked as he continued, the tremor increasing with every line he spoke.

" **Steel is my body and fire is my blood."**

 **"I have created over a thousand blades."**

 **"Never defeated... Nor ever victorious."**

 **"Have withstood pain to create many weapons."**

 **"Yet this life holds no meaning to it."**

 **"So as I pray... UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!"**

(If you're imagining the Japanese version, then use Shirou's chant. I kinda mixed up the fourth and final second line.)

As soon as he finished chanting, the aura around him expanded, engulfing everyone. And as the area glowed, no one noticed Suguha's wounds closing, along with her slowly stabilising breath.

As the glow died down, everyone glanced around and saw that they were in a different area.

Instead of the hall of the Ruby Palace, they were all in a wide plain. The plain was split in two, one side was full of life, with grass, trees and rivers. The other side, was a barren waste land, a desert with wilted trees, skeletons and vultures flying around.

(Just think of the border between the Human Empire and the Dark Territory in the Underworld... The dark part is similar to where Alice accidentally touched the ground of the Dark Territory."

But with all the differences between the two areas, there was one thing that remained the same. Both sides had a massive amount of swords stabbed into the ground.

Immediately, everyone thought it was a Genjutsu, something similar to the Tsukuyomi. But Kayaba knew better. The man said, intrigued, "A Reality Marble... Impressive, Kirito."

Kayaba took a moment to sense Kirito's chakra. It had increased immensely, and his aura was ten times stronger than what it was. The master hid a smirk, this was what he wanted.

Then, Kirito vanished. In an instant, Kayaba found his student in front of him, two random swords in his hands, ready to strike.

Kayaba frowned and blocked the first sword with his shield before clashing blades with the second sword.

The man then pushed on his shield, pushing Kirito away as Kayaba quickly extended his wings and flew away.

Kirito narrowed his eyes and threw one of his blades at the man, vanishing in a burst of blue particles and reappearing by the sword, right behind Kayaba.

But the man was prepared. Kayaba quickly turned just before Kirito could summon a sword and shot several fireballs at him.

The younger swordsman tch'd and grabbed a sword that flew to him from the ground before he slashed the fireballs apart, muttering as he did, "Enhance Armament."

Then, Kirito grabbed another sword from the air and yelled, "Enhance Armament!"

Kayaba's eyes widened as Kirito shot several beams of light at him. The man raised his shield quickly in an attempt to block it. But the blasts of light pierced through the shield easily, creating several holes inin Kayaba's shoulder and legs.

The man grunted in pain before he realized Kirito was gone. The master swordsman's eyes widened as he quickly flew backwards just in time to dodge the Samehada from shredding him to pieces.

Kayaba's eyes widened, 'When the hell did he get the fucking Samehada of all things?'

As the man flew, he charged straight right into Kirito's trap, as he suddenly felt several slashes to his chest. Kayaba gritted his teeth in pain as he realized what Kirito had done.

The man thought, 'First is Bercouli's long sword, the Jisenken/Time Piercing Sword, then Fanatio's Tensenken/Heaven Piercing Sword... And now the Samehada... How did he know of Bercouli and Fanatio's swords?'

Kayaba cursed his luck as he dodged several swords shooting at him from the ground. The man then gasped as he was sent flying down towards the ground by a hard kick to his back, no doubt from Kirito after warping directly above him.

Kayaba cursed and managed to regain his balance right before he crashed into the ground. The man managed to get up, but he was quickly bombarded by the infinite amount of swords on the ground.

For every sword he blocked or parried, he would receive a slash from another from behind. Kayaba cursed as he tried to stop himself from screaming in pain, 'This is working waaay too well. Fuck this...'

The worse thing was that he couldn't even use his seals. The ones that were already in effect would stay that way until he died or if he stopped them. But since this was essentially Kirito's inner world, he couldn't influence this place like he could in Aincrad.

In Aincrad, he was basically God thanks to the seals. But in the Reality Marble Kirito made, Kirito was the god, and Kayaba had no power over anything here.

Then, Kirito landed on the ground, and every one of the floating swords stopped around them, forming something similar to a ring.

Kirito glared at his teacher, "This ends here, Kayaba Akihiko."

The man let out a tired breath and raised his shield. Then Kirito charged.

The young man held out his hand as a copy of the Elucidator shot out from the ring of swords around them. Kirito roared as he swung the sword at the shield.

Kayaba's eyes widened as he was sent skidding back with one slash before he kept his shield up to block Kirito's slashes.

Then, Kirito threw the copy of his sword above Kayaba's head and warped to the sword. The master swordsman's eyes widened as he quickly turned just in time to see Kirito grab a copy of Asuna's Lambant Light, returning his Elucidator to the ring of swords.

The man cursed as Kirito came down, Asuna's rapier glowing pure as he roared, "Mother's ROSARIO!"

The younger man swiftly gave 10 stabs at the shield, pushing Kayaba back. Then, wings of energy formed at the hilt as Kirito charged forward, roaring as he delivered the final 11th stab, breaking the shield into pieces.

Kayaba grunted as he backed away, holding up his sword with two hands as he stayed on guard.

Kirito then let go of the Lambant Light and grabbed a copy of Suguha's Tempest. The man's eyes widened as his protege charged forward with the katana.

The older man barely managed to dodge several slashes before he was forced to block and parry Kirito's slashes. Then, Suguha's sword glowed red as Kirito roared, "KUREYU!"

The swordsman charged and gave a hard diagonal slash from his lower left. Kayaba cursed as he raised his sword to block it, having not enough time to dodge the charging attack.

Then, as the blades met, Kayaba's eyes widened as his blade shattered to pieces, the force from the slash sending him to the ground again.

Not missing a beat, Kirito flipped backwards and extended his wings, shooting up to the sky. The ring of swords quickly closed in on Kayaba, trapping him there as more swords shot up to Kirito's side.

The younger man then grabbed a copy of the Elucidator and pulled it back, willing the swords around him to form a circle in front of him.

Then, with a mental command, all of the swords pointed downwards at Kayaba, energy charging at the center, surrounded by all the swords.

Kirito thought coldly as he stared down at his master, "Farewell... Kayaba Akihiko."

Then he thurst his sword at the sphere of energy, unleashing a massive beam of chakra that engulfed all of the swords surrounding Kayaba, including the man of course.

(Imagine the attack, Bahamut used in FFXV when Luna summoned all the Astral Gods.)

After a while, the beam stopped. And all that was left, was a huge crater. There wasn't a trace that Kayaba even existed.

Kirito let out a breath as he landed beside Suguha, the aura around him dying down, and his eyes returning to normal, just as the Reality Marble vanished.

The man sighed, "Its over..."

He turned and saw that everyone could move again, and Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and the ones who knew Suguha quickly ran over to them.

But before they could say anything, they heard Kayaba's voice boom through the area, "Well done, Kirito."

The swordsman's eyes widened before they narrowed as he turned to glare at his teacher. But before he could do anything, a white light covered the area, blinding everyone.

Soon, the light died down, and Kirito found himself standing above Aincrad, on air, along with Asuna, Sinon and Hikari, with Suguha's body floating by them.

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he saw Kayaba standing, or rather floating, in front of them. The younger swordsman growled, "I killed you..."

The man smiled sadly, "Indeed you did, and you did it spectacularly. I am but a chakra projection of Kayaba Akihiko, similar to what Minato and Kushina did in Hikari's seal."

Hikari's eyes widened before she asked warily, "How did you know?"

Kayaba chuckled, "I know a lot of things. But before that..."

He snapped his fingers, causing a green ray of light to shoot out from Aincrad, engulfing Suguha. Kirito's eyes widened as he growled, drawing a sword and charged, "What're you doing?!"

But before Kirito could attack the man, Kayaba raised a palm, "I have total control over Aincrad, thanks to the seals I applied on it. Technically, we, or rather you all, are still inside Aincrad, so I could heal Suguha's wounds and bring her back."

True enough, Suguha's breathing started to stabilise, and the huge slash on her had vanished.

Kirito glared at him, "Why are you doing this?"

The man smiled, "Several reasons. I promised you answers, didn't I?"

The younger man growled, ignoring the worried looks from the three girls with him. Kayaba chuckled and looked at Aincrad, "First, let me explain about the Underworld. I'm sure you've heard of that."

Kirito forced himself to calm down and nodded, "Yeah. What is that?"

The man looked up at the sky, "Every coin has two sides. Our planet is the same. The world we live in now, is the outer world, so to speak, and the Underworld, is the inner part of this planet. At least, that's what it should have been. But some time in the past, the Underworld manifested in the outer world as a whole continent."

Kirito raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything as Kayaba continued, "At some point, the Underworld split off from this planet, forming a whole new world. Some times, well most of the time, the worlds would connect, and the Underworld would manifest in the Elemental Nations in its original form."

The man frowned, "But then, something happened, and the Underworld was closed off from us. This happened millennia ago, long before any of us existed, probably during the time of the Rikudo Sennin."

Kirito asked, "And how does the Underworld come in here?"

Kayaba nodded, "Our sword skills, our spells, they all come from the Underworld. I was born during Hiruzen's time, by right, I should be an old man like he was."

The man let out a sigh, "But I couldn't use chakra at that time. By sheer luck, my body was structured the same way a human from the Underworld would be."

Kayaba paused before he continued, "When I was 12, I found a portal linked to the Underworld, and I went there. I was trained by my master there, I learned their arts, their spells. Everything. I lived there until I was 17, then I found a portal that brought me back here."

The man smiled as he thought back on his past, "I reunited with my friends, even if they were all older than me. And with my skills, I could join the shinobi ranks, and I did, with Minato, Kushina and the others. That's how I knew them."

Kayaba cleared his throat before he spoke again, "The rest of that is irrelevant. But over the years, portals to the Underworld would appear, unfortunately, we never got far, as the portals were unstable. But we managed to find out about their military."

Kirito raised his eyebrow again as Kayaba said, "Instead of ninja, they had knights. A normal knight is as strong as a Jounin, and the more advanced Integrity Knights, are all at least Kage level."

The man continued, "The Underworld is also your ancestral home. Your mark, and the yellow aura you possess, along with how your eyes turn yellow, is proof that you carry the blood of the Underworld."

Kirito's eyes widened, the girls were also surprised, "What?"

Kayaba nodded, "I have no idea how you ended up here. The portals to the Underworld stopped appearing after Minato first used the Hiraishin, long before you were born. But regardless, you do possess blood from the Underworld. The fact you could use a Reality Marble just proves it. No one from the Elemental Nations can use that."

The man then tilted his head at his student, "Besides, the swords you used against me, some of them belonged to people I knew from the Underworld."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, "Then how?"

Kayaba closed his eyes, "That's something you'll have to find out on your own. One of the reasons I made Aincrad, was to prepare you, and all of the Elemental Nations for the Underworld, in case war happens."

The man looked at Kirito, "My Aincrad is just the beginning. Some time in the future, you will return to the Underworld, and hopefully resolve things between our worlds."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, "Why me? Why us?"

Kayaba shrugged, "You're my student, and you're the only one who fits the bill. But, I know you can do it. You've never disappointed me, not now, not ever."

Then, Kayaba started to fade and the man sighed, "Well, my time is almost up. I've set Aincrad to self destruct in 5 minutes, and I've sent everyone back to the gates of their villages. Everything will reveal itself soon, Kirito. But, just for your information."

Kayaba's body was almost gone, and he threw a scroll to Kirito, who caught it easily. Kayaba smiled, "Farewell, Kirito. It was a pleasure teaching you."

Then, the man vanished, and Kirito, Asuna, Sinon and Hikari all found themselves on the ground at Konoha's gates, Suguha still unconscious, with all the Konoha ninja that fought on the 100th floor with them.

Asuna said, "We're back?"

Sinon nodded as she noticed Suguha safe and sound, snoring lightly beside them. Hikari then said, "Look."

Everyone turned up to see Aincrad slowly crumbling and falling to pieces.

Jiraiya commented as they watched the massive castle fall apart, "So... It finally ends..."

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah..."

Soon, Aincrad was gone. Kirito sighed, the information Kayaba gave him still fresh on his mind, and he looked at the scroll in his hands.

He then felt a hand slip into his free hand. The young man turned and saw Asuna smiling softly, "Don't think too hard about it, we'll be with you."

Kirito also saw the smiling faces of Hikari, Sinon and everyone else with them. The swordsman chuckled, "Yeah, let's go home."

The group turned, and Kirito picked up Suguha bridal style before they headed back to the village.

Meanwhile, at the ruins of Aincrad, two spheres of chakra rose from the center of the ruins of the Ruby Palace, one was black, the other was blue.

The black chakra sphere shot up into the sky before disappearing out of sight, while the blue sphere shot straight into the forest.

XXX

Done. So... That officially marks the end of the Aincrad arc... Sort of. The next chapter will finish things up, and I'll start on the Oberon arc.

So yeah, review please.


	54. Chapter 54

Hey, this is the 54th chapter. So, I've started my degree course, so I probably won't be able to update as much as I did. But I'll do my best to update as soon as I can.

Anyways, here it is.

XXX

The next morning, in the Namikaze compound, more specifically, the garden linked to the compound.

Yui, Hikari and Suguha ran around, the little girl chasing after the two elder women with several small eagles and dragons, while Kirito, Sinon and Asuna sat by a side watching them.

Nagato and Konan were out on their own mission with Itachi and Yugao, so the six were on their own in the compound.

Fortunately, the garden was self-maintained through the seals Kushina and Minato placed when they were alive.

So Kirito and the girls didn't need to tend to the plants much, hell, even the weeds were automatically cut off. So that meant they didn't need to do anything.

Kirito smiled as they watched Yui chase after the summons and their respective summoners, "Yui... She's having fun."

Sinon nodded, "Yeah, she seems to be fitting in quite nicely."

Asuna nodded, "You know, Yui-chan is a being of chakra, right? Will she grow?"

Isobu answered from her seal, speaking aloud, "Probably not. Normally, chakra constructs like us, who attain a physical form, are able to change our forms to suit what we like. Though most of us Bijuu just don't do it cuz its just way too much work."

Asuna nodded, "I see..."

Kirito chuckled, "Well, that means Yui will stay as she is for as long as she wants."

Sinon smiled and nodded. The little girl was just too cute, and she doubted anyone wanted the girl to change.

Then, Kirito blinked as he caught a faint flash. Then, all of a sudden, Yui fell to the ground screaming while holding her chest.

Everyone quickly ran over to her. Kirito asked, "Yui?! What's wrong?!"

The girl clutched her chest and gasped, "It hurts!"

Hikari's eyes widened as she sensed Yui's chakra skyrocket, "Her chakra..."

Asuna, Sinon and Suguha nodded worriedly. Kirito frowned, "Why would her chakra increase so much?"

The answer came from Hikari's clone which appeared on its own, and Kurama spoke, "This chakra... No doubt bout it, its from Aincrad."

Hikari's eyes widened, "Aincrad?"

Choumei-S nodded and was about to say something when Suguha also fell to her knees, holding her stomach in pain. The half of the Seven Tails' eyes widened, "My chakra... Its returning?!"

Kurama frowned with Hikari's face, "Hmm... I sense chakra flowing in to Suguha and Yui... And this is from Aincrad..."

After a short while, Suguha let out a breath as she shakily stood up, Sinon helping her up, but Yui was still holding her chest in pain.

Hikari asked, "What's wrong with her?"

Choumei-S replied aloud from Suguha's seal, "Her body can't handle the chakra. I had seven tails worth of chakra originally, so all the chakra did was replenish my lost half... Suguha can probably access my full Bijuu mode now."

Kirito asked, "Then... What will happen to her?"

Kurama answered, "While she is essentially a Bijuu, Yui has a limit with her current body. Our chakra gradually increased, that's why Choumei and Suguha are fine, and that's why their situation ended quickly... But from what I sense, this is a massive influx of it for Yui, possibly worth 8 tails."

Kurama let out a breath, "Best case scenario, she dies. Worst case scenario, the chakra in her go haywire and explodes... And we all die."

Asuna frowned, "Then...what can we do?"

Kurama closed his eyes, "We seal her. That should cut off the chakra flowing into her. It should also allow her chakra to stabilise itself."

He glanced around, "But... We can't seal her into an inanimate object, nor an animal or a plant... Kirito, you'll have to seal her in your body."

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he looked at Yui, "There won't be any negative side effects, right Kurama?"

The Bijuu nodded, "Of course not. As far as I know, this is basically the same as sealing a Bijuu into a human. Your body is already accustomed to Bijuu chakra thanks to Hikari, Suguha, Asuna and Sinon being Jinchurikii, who all leak our chakra everyday in small quantities. You'll both be fine."

He also added, "Besides, your body should be strong enough now."

Hikari sighed, "Fine... Let's hurry."

Kirito quickly took off his shirt and sat down beside Yui while Hikari stood behind him. Asuna, Sinon and Suguha also stood beside them as Hikari got to work.

But before they started, Kurama said in Hikari's clone, "Wait. As of now, I doubt a normal Hakke no Fuin will work. I'll guide you with one of the seals I learned from the old man."

The blonde seal master raised an eyebrow but nodded at his look, letting him return to her seal.

Then she quickly unsealed her supplies and started drawing a Hakke Fuin on Kirito's chest, making two seal-less clones to make seals to stabilise Yui's chakra.

After five minutes, with Suguha, Asuna and Sinon comforting Yui, Hikari finished the final stroke and placed her left hand on Yui's head, and her right hand on Kirito's chest, "Tenchi no Fuin!" (天地の封印)

Immediately, Yui glowed and took on a blue glow as she was transferred into Kirito's body. After a short moment, Kirito glowed as the seals Hikari painted on his chest glowed, rearranging themselves until they formed a seal.

(Imagine Seal of Destruction from Garo : Makai Senki, except with a tear drop symbol right above it.)

As the seal formed, Kirito let out a small breath as he felt as if he had gained something. His chakra levels increased, and he could feel a small pull on his chest.

Hikari nodded as she placed her brush down, "Done. Can you hear Yui, Kirito-kun?"

Kirito nodded as Yui's voice popped up in his mind, "I feel better now! Thank you, Papa, Hikari-mama!"

The young man said, "She feels better now. Its a success."

The girls all sighed in relief before a small ball of light shot out of Kirito's chest, revealing Yui, but much smaller, with wings and wearing a light pink dress.

Sinon blinked, "Yui? What's with that size?"

The young girl grinned, "Now that I'm sealed in Papa, I have access to his technique with his wings! Also, apparently I also gained a lot of data... Or information, from Aincrad's data bases, since I received its chakra. So I can now shrink to move easily."

Kurama nodded as he spoke in Hikari's mind, "That's one of the seals my old man taught me. Well, more like I learned it from his library... But it allows a being of chakra to freely enter and exit a vessel as they please. No idea why he had it though."

Hikari just smiled, 'At least it came in handy for this. Thank you, Kurama.'

The bijuu smirked, "Hmph, that little twerp has grown on me. Besides, she's your daughter, isn't she?"

Hikari smiled and nodded before she blinked as Yui yelled, glaring and pointing at her gut, "Stupid fox! I'm not a twerp!"

Kurama just grumbled, "Damn I forgot she can hear us..."

Hikari just giggled as the others looked in confusion. The blonde saw that and explained, "Kurama said Yui was a twerp, and she could hear him."

The others just oh'd as the other Bijuu laughed at the expense of their eldest sibling being called stupid by a girl.

Yui then blinked before she said, looking at Kirito, "By the way, Papa, can you come into your mindscape?"

Kirito blinked as Yui vanished, returning back to his seal. The swordsman scratched his cheek, "Erm... How do I do that actually?"

The man could feel the girl puff her cheeks inside the seal before she said in his mind, "Just sit down and meditate."

Kirito sighed and sat down cross legged. Then he closed his eyes, clearing his mind of everything, momentarily ignoring everything around him.

Then, he felt a rough breeze. The man opened his eyes and saw an area divided in two, one full of life, the other devoid of it. (basically the area from Kirito's version of Unlimited Blade Works)

He looked down to the left as he felt a small hand slip into his own, and Kirito saw Yui in her normal size standing beside him.

Kirito asked, "Yui? Where are we?"

The little girl replied, "We are in your mindscape, Papa. This is the representation of what your mind and soul is like."

Kirito nodded, "I see... But, its strange..."

Yui nodded, "Your mind is... unique. But that's not why I called you here."

Kirito raised an eyebrow, "Hm?"

The girl pointed to the line separating the two areas. Then, directly above the line, a sword appeared, floating in the air.

The sword was a broad sword of sorts. It was slightly longer than the Kubikiribocho, with blue lines running down both sides of the blade. At the guard, there was also a small orb in it.

More importantly, the sword was pulsing with power, and Kirito knew it wasn't a simple sword.

Yui said, "It appeared immediately after I was sealed in you."

Kirito nodded and slowly stepped towards it. Then, he reached up to grab the hilt. But right at an inch from the sword, the blade suddenly glowed.

Kirito's eyes widened as he felt some sort of force send him flying. The man quickly flipped and landed on the ground, regaining his balance.

The man narrowed his eyes as Yui ran to him, "What was that?"

The girl turned and stared at the sword, "It seems to be a barrier around it."

She then turned to Kirito, "Don't worry about it, Papa, I'll study it when you sleep, and I'll tell you if I have anything."

Kirito nodded before he smiled, "Thank you... But, the way you talk, it's as if you've aged quite a bit."

Yui grinned and placed both hands on her hips, "When I received the chakra from Aincrad, I also received most of the data from it. Though I'm still processing most of the data, it increased my vocabulary and speech patterns."

Kirito chuckled and ruffled the girl's hair, "I see. Good for you then."

Yui just beamed at her father before Kirito vanished from the mindscape. Then, the young girl turned to the sword again, frowning slightly as she saw the silhouette of a familiar older man before she turned and walked away.

Back in the real world, Kirito opened his eyes to see the girls' faces right in front of him. The man jumped slightly and asked, "W-what's wrong?"

Asuna smiled, "Nothing, it's just, you looked very at peace, so we couldn't help it."

Hikari, Suguha and Sinon all nodded in agreement, as Kirito sweatdropped. The man asked, "Erm, how long was I out?"

Sinon answered, "Around 10 minutes or so."

Suguha then asked, "So, what did Yui want?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, well, nothing much exactly, she just wanted to show me the changes in my mindscape."

Then, before they could continue, everyone heard a loud growl, and they turned to the source of it. Hikari laughed and blushed in embarrassment as Kirito sighed, "Well, its around noon. Let's get some lunch then."

The girls laughed as Hikari blushed harder before they headed out for lunch.

(linebreak)

An hour later, the group of six (Kirito, the four girls, and Yui) walked out of an average restaurant satisfied.

As they walked, they saw Kakashi walking to them. Hikari smiled and greeted, "Kakashi-sensei."

The cyclops eye-smiled in response, "Hello, everyone. Good to see you all here, I was looking for all of you."

Kirito asked, curious, "What's up?"

Kakashi nodded, "Hokage-sama has a mission for us. I already have a clone looking for Sasuke and Sakura, so we should head for the Hokage tower."

A short walk later, Kirito, Asuna, Hikari, Sinon, Suguha and Kakashi were in the Hokage's office. Hikari asked, "So, what mission do you have for us?"

Tsunade sighed, "I'll tell you when Sasuke and Sakura arrive."

As if on cue, the door opened to reveal Sasuke and Sakura, but more importantly, the two were holding hands, with Sasuke having a light blush on his face.

Kirito smirked, "Ho, so you finally asked her, Sasuke."

Sasuke glared at his friend lightly, "Shut up, you have a fuckin harem."

Kirito just laughed as Sakura sighed, "Well, Sasuke-kun _finally_ asked me yesterday, so we were on our first date..."

Tsunade nodded, "Yes, I apologise. I know we just finished things with Aincrad, and truthfully you all deserve at least a day off. But this is important, and all of you are the best to handle this."

Everyone turned their attention to Tsunade, and the Hokage spoke, "Your mission is split into two parts. I'll start on the first one."

The woman gained an annoyed look as she spoke, "A few days ago, the sole son of one of the companies working with our village came to visit. That company is one of our agents in getting missions for civilians outside of Konoha, and Hi no Kuni in general."

Tsunade sighed, "The owner of that company, Nobuyuki Ryoutaro, is a great man. Sadly, his son, Nobuyuki Sugou, is not. Two days ago, Ryoutaro requested a team to escort his son back."

The woman frowned, "Apparently, Sugou has offended quite a number of people, so his father wanted us to protect his son on his journey to Nami no Kuni, where one of his ships are."

Kirito nodded, "I see. But there's more to this, isn't there?"

Tsunade nodded, "Sugou demanded a team of kunoichi escort him back. His father had warned me of his tendencies to harass women, if he finds them nice, he'll try to woo them. If its the opposite, he'll do whatever it takes to get them out of his sight."

The woman sighed, "To be honest, Asuna, Sinon, Suguha, your team is the only kunoichi team we have. Yugao is on a mission, and sadly, this company is quite important for our village. Now, Ryoutaro doesn't like his son's attitude, but Sugou is still his son. So we have our hands tied."

Tsunade looked at everyone of them, "Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon will be guarding Sugou to Nami no Kuni. Kirito, Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke will stay in the shadows and watch their backs. That man is definitely harmless, but I'm not gonna risk anything. Right, Kirito?"

The swordsman nodded, not liking this mission already. Tsunade let out a breath, "So, Kirito will stand in for Hikari in Team Kakashi, and Hikari will stand in for Yugao in Team Yugao. The first part of your mission, is to guard Nobuyuki Sugou on his way back to Nami no Kuni."

Everyone nodded, before Kakashi asked, "What about the second part?"

The Hokage nodded, "Just a few hours ago, I received intel from Jiraiya about one of Orochimaru's hideouts near Nami no Kuni. Its an island. After you finish escorting Sugou to Nami no Kuni, meet up with Jiraiya, and help him with whatever he needs."

Everyone nodded before Tsunade finished, "You leave tomorrow, get some rest."

The two teams nodded and left the room, leaving Tsunade to her thoughts. The woman looked out to the village, 'Well, I hope they don't kill him in the process...'

(linebreak)

The next day, the two teams were standing in front of one of the more extravagant hotels in Konoha, and they were all sporting deadpan looks.

The reason?

A very, very luxurious looking cart was parked in front of the main entrance, while another not-so-luxurious-but-still-very-expensive-looking cart was parked behind it, this one filled with items, most likely souvenirs.

Kirito, Kakashi and Sasuke all shared a sigh. Kirito said, "This is ridiculous."

Sinon shot him an annoyed look, "At least you won't have to deal with this for the whole trip... You're all staying in the shadows."

Sakura smiled, "Well... It shouldn't be that bad... Right?"

As if on cue, a man walked out of the hotel. He wore a pair of glasses, with his hair slicked back. The man also wore a very formal suit, and he was flanked by two maids on each side.

Sasuke just shook his head with a sigh, "You just had to jinx it."

Sakura just smiled forcedfully as the man approached them. The man said with a smile, "Ah, you must be the team Hokage-sama sent for me, my name is Nobuyuki Sugou, a pleasure to meet you."

Then he noticed Kirito, Sasuke and Kakashi and frowned, "But I'm pretty sure I requested a team of only kunoichi, why are _they_ here?"

The girls all resisted the urge to facepalm at the blatant change of tone before Kirito said, "We're just accompanying them, we have our own mission."

Sugou looked at them, obviously not caring a bit about them, "Whatever, just get on your way."

The man turned to the team of girls with a smile, "Now, shall we get going?"

The four girls resisted the urge to facepalm again as Asuna nodded, "Okay, let's go."

Sugou nodded with a smile, though he pushed down a frown as he saw Kirito kiss the four girls before they left for the gates. Sadly for Sugou, all of the people present were ninja and easily saw his slight change of expression.

As the two carts, accompanied by the four kunoichi, headed for the gates. Sasuke said with a smirk, "I think that guy hates you now, Kirito. You saw his look."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, but I won't worry much. If he tries anything, he'll lose the one thing that makes him a man, and I won't need to do a thing."

Kakashi chuckled, "True. That guy has four of the strongest kunoichi from our village guarding him."

Sakura frowned slightly as she glanced at the carts, "Though... That man... I felt dirty when he looked at me."

Kakashi nodded, "Let's just hope Sugou doesn't get himself killed then. Let's go."

The four nodded and headed for the gates, before quickly vanishing into the trees, or in Kirito's case, flying to the trees.

Back with the girls, they were standing in a spread out formation. Asuna and Hikari walked beside the first cart, while Sinon and Suguha walked with the second cart.

As they walked, Sugou peeked out from the cart and looked at Hikari, "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name, miss."

Hikari glanced at the man briefly before she focused on the front, then she answered, "My name is Namikaze Hikari, Nobuyuki-san."

Sugou nodded with a smile, "Then you're the late Yondaime Hokage's daughter, is that right?"

Hikari nodded, "Yes."

The man then said, "I feel honoured, having a kunoichi of your calibre escort me."

The Namikaze nodded, "Its my job."

Sugou frowned lightly, since it was pretty obvious Hikari didn't want to talk to him. Though the man had to admit, Hikari was quite appealing, but he also knew how strong the girl was.

Sugou went back into his cart before he turned to Asuna, peeking out from the window. The man smiled, "I'm sorry, miss, but I didn't get your name, did I?"

Asuna glanced at him and nodded, seeing no harm in telling him, "I'm Yuki Asuna, is there anything wrong?"

Sugou shook his head, "No, I was merely curious. Why is a woman like you a ninja?"

The girl replied, not looking away from the road, "Because I want to protect those important to me, that's all."

The man frowned for a moment, which didn't go unnoticed by Asuna, before he said, "I don't think someone you should be fighting out here. How about you become my personal guard?"

Asuna frowned slightly, "Sorry, but I'll have to decline."

Sugou's eyes widened slightly in surprise, normally no one would deny an offer from him, "Why? Even if you're a guard, it will only be in name! You can have everything you want! Money, gold, EVERYTHING!"

Asuna repressed the urge to sigh. It was pretty obvious what Sugou was aiming for. The girl could practically feel him mentally undressing her, and most likely the other girls too. It made her feel disgusted, but it was still a mission.

Asuna answered indifferently, "I already have everything I want, Nobuyuki-san. Besides, I'm quite happy with what I have now, but thank you for your offer."

Sugou mentally seethed. He was pretty suresure that Kirito was the reason she was rejecting his offer. The man couldn't understand, why would four beautiful girls agree to share someone like him. What did that low class mongrel have?

Sugou took a breath and calmed himself down before he continued trying to get Hikari and Asuna for himself.

Meanwhile, at the second cart. Suguha sighed as she saw Sugou trying to woo Asuna and Hikari, but repeatedly getting rejected. Suguha thought, 'He sure is persistent... At least I'm not guarding that cart.'

Sinon also had the same line of thoughts, grateful that she was behind them, while still feeling sorry for her sisters for having to deal with their client.

At the same time, on the trees nearby, Kirito frowned as he saw Sugou trying to get Asuna and Hikari's attention. The swordsman said, "That guy is really annoying..."

Kakashi sighed, "Its part of the mission, we'll have to deal with it."

The younger man frowned, "A silencing seal wouldn't hurt."

Sakura sighed, "Kirito-san, I know you're worried for them, but I'm pretty sure they can handle anything that pops up. They aren't weak."

Kirito chuckled, "Oh I know they're not weak. Far from it. But, I'm still a guy, you know?"

Sasuke nodded in agreement, "Exactly, I'd be the same if someone tried to get close to you, Sakura. How would you feel if some girl came over and asked me out?"

A small ball of light shot out of Kirito's chest, and Yui nodded, shouting in agreement, "Yeah! Only Papa is allowed to be close with all my Mamas!"

Sakura sighed and nodded, "I get it... But we're not allowed to do anything."

The two younger men just sighed before Kakashi asked, "By the way, Kirito. What happened to your other sword?"

Kirito blinked as he glanced back, before he said, "The Dark Repulsor is at home. I'm planning on fixing it later."

Kakashi nodded, "I see. Well, you can just make a copy anywhere, so I guess it won't affect your fighting style much."

The swordsman nodded, "Yeah, but the swords I project are just that, copies. The original is better."

Kakashi nodded before they continued jumping through the trees. As they jumped, Kirito frowned as he saw Sugou trying to get Hikari and Asuna's attention again.

The swordsman quickly drew a small silencing seal on a small tag and gave it to Yui, "Yui, I want you to put this on Sugou's back, preferably behind his chest. Can you do it?"

Kakashi sighed as he easily recognised the silencing tag. Well, he won't stop them, since he knew just how annoying it is to see another guy hit on not one, but two of your girls.

Sasuke and Sakura just shook their heads as Yui nodded with vigor before flying towards the cart.

With Hikari, the blonde was trying her best not to rip the man in half. In the beginning, Sugou had at least tried to act pleasant. But the more Hikari rejected his offers, the worse Sugou became.

He didn't even bother to hide that he wanted Hikari and Asuna by his side.

Kurama chuckled as he spoke, "Hikari, look."

The blonde turned up and saw Yui in her pixie form, holding a sealing tag, one she was very familiar with. The last Namikaze smiled at the girl as she shot towards the cart.

Then, as Sugou was still trying to get Asuna's attention, Yui flew and stopped right behind Sugou's head, smiling.

The rapier user noticed the pixie sized girl and smiled, nodding slightly, though Sugou seemed to take it the other way. The man smiled, "So, when would you like to start? I can arrange everything as soo-!"

Sugou was cut off as he couldn't speak all of a sudden. The man tried to say something, but no sound came out. He even tried screaming, but nothing came out.

Asuna and Hikari both hid a smile as they glanced at the trees, where they saw Kirito, Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura. Suguha and Sinon also saw that and smiled.

Sugou also noticed Kirito standing on the trees, and he seethed, 'THAT MONGREL!'

The trip went on almost uneventfully. Sugou continued trying to speak, but nothing came out, and it only served to make a fool out of himself.

There were also several bandits that tried to rob them. But either Kirito and the team on the trees would take them out before they could even reveal themselves, or Hikari and the girls would take them out easily.

Though, seeing Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon in action just made Sugou want them more. The man always thought ninja fighting was barbaric, but he couldn't deny that the girls looked really hot in action.

Unfortunately for Sugou, he couldn't say anything due to the silencing seals that were on him.

After a while, the group decided to camp out for the night, as it was getting late, to the chargin of the bespectacled man.

Sugou frowned as the four girls set up the camp, along with the staff that were with them. The man had never camped out, having always stayed at the finest inns his 'servants', which were his father's staff that were assigned to him, could find.

The fact that he had to sleep out in the open disgusted him. Sadly for him, and luckily for the staff attending to him, Sugou couldn't voice his discomfort.

Meanwhile, on a tree a short distance away from the camp, Kirito and his team watched over them as they set up camp.

Sakura asked, "Hey, so are we just gonna stay up here?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah, our mission is to watch over them, more specifically, watch over Sugou. But from what I've seen, we don't need to do much."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, but like Hokage-sama said, I won't take any chances."

Sasuke smirked, "Hmph, well, don't worry too much. I doubt he can do anything to them."

The swordsman nodded, "Yeah..."

The night passed quite peacefully. Thanks to the double barrier Hikari and Kirito put up, none of the enemies could attack them, not that there were any enemies anyways.

The next day, the group continued their journey to Nami no Kuni, and they quickly reached the country with no problems.

Soon, they were at the bridge connecting Nami no Kuni to the main island. Hikari grinned as she saw the bridge, "Damn it feels nice to see this place again."

Asuna, Suguha and Sinon all nodded as they smiled. Asuna turned and glanced at the people driving the carts, "Let's go."

The others just nodded as they quickly followed them across the bridge, while Kirito and the others walked on the side of the bridge/flew by the side of the bridge.

The group quickly reached the town, and the people from Konoha couldn't help but marvel at how developed the place was now. It was as if they were in a totally different place.

The team quickly reached one of the more expensive hotels in the area, which was where they were supposed to escort Sugou to.

As the girls led the two carts to the hotel, Hikari said to Sugou with a hidden smirk, "We're here. This is where we part ways, Nobuyuki-san. I'm sure your voice will return in a short moment, have a pleasant day."

The girls all nodded as the staff gave them their thanks for having had to escort them to their destination. Sugou tried to smile, but he was just too frustrated to make it seem convincing.

Soon, the girls left the hotel, leaving Sugou and his men. As the bespectacled man entered the hotel, he growled, "That bastard... I don't know how, but I'm sure he did something to me!"

It was only then did he realise his voice was back. But before he could cheer, one of the hotel attendants approached him, "Nobuyuki Sugou-san, right?"

Sugou blinked as he pushed his glasses up, "Yes, how may I help you?"

The attendant nodded, "Yes, your father is waiting for you in his room, we'll take care of your items."

Sugou nodded, curious what his father wanted, "Thank you, I'll go right away."

The attendant bowed and quickly went to help Sugou's men with their work. Sugou then walked to the rooms, 'I must get those girls, and that mongrel WILL pay!'

As he reached the room, Sugou knocked, and his father's voice came from the other side of the door, "Come in."

Sugou opened the door to see a man sitting on the chair with his legs crossed, resting his arms on the arm-rest of the chair. The man had a goatie and had a muscular build, along with strict atmosphere around him.

All in all, the man was very different compared to what Sugou was. This was Nobuyuku Ryoutaro. (Imagine Baraqiel from Highschool DxD)

Ryoutaro placed the file he had been reading on the table in front of him, and he turned to look at his son, "Sugou, so, how was your trip?"

Sugou smiled at his father, the man being one of the few people he respected, "It was great, father. I learned a lot of things."

Ryoutaro nodded before he asked, "I sense you want something, what is it?"

Sugou nodded, "Yes, I met these four kunoichi from Konoha, and I'm interested in them. I want to hire them as our personal guards."

The older man nodded before he pointed at the files on the table in front of him, "Sugou, do you know what these are?"

The bespectacled man tilted his head slightly, "No, father."

Ryoutaro turned his gaze to his son, his eyes turning cold, "These are the reports I received about your attitude. I am very, very disappointed."

Sugou blinked, "I'm sorry, father, but-"

Ryoutaro spoke calmly, but the anger in his voice was obvious, "Shut up. And listen."

The man looked at the files and slowly flipped the pages, "Repeated sexual harassment against girls from almost every village, just because they looked worthy to you, some of them were even in relationships, yet you didn't care, and even threatened them with your status as my son."

Sugou tried to speak up but Ryoutaro just kept going, "Then, you provoked people repeatedly just because they were 'lowly' villagers, and even hit and spat on them, using your status as my son as a shield."

Sugou tried to speak up again, but Ryoutaro continued listing out what he had on the files, "And then, you even bought a fucking circus just so you could fire a man for using you in his act."

The older man turned his gaze to his son, and Sugou could see just how furious he was, "I sent you out to learn about your mistakes, and yet, you went on a vacation. YOU HAVE NO IDEA, JUST HOW MUCH YOU FUCKED UP!"

Sugou opened his mouth, but his father cut him off, "I taught you, to always be kind, to be noble, because we are privileged. There are many people out there, who are poor, who are not fortunate like us. That is why I sent you out on a trip."

Sugou opened his mouth again, but Ryoutaro said, "This is enough, Sugou. From today onwards, you will live on your own. I will cut all of your accounts, and none of my staff will bother with you. And everything you have, will be confiscated."

Sugou's eyes widened, "WHAT?! DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE?!"

Ryoutaro glared at his son, "You forced my hand. I taught you better than this. And just so you know, I started with nothing. EVERYONE started with nothing. You will learn to live as a normal person."

Sugou just gaped at his father as the older man said loudly, "Now get of my sight."

Immediately, the door opened, and four samurai came in and dragged Sugou out of the building before throwing him onto the ground.

The bespectacled man just glared at the samurai as they went back into the hotel. Sugou growled, hatred boiling within him, "FUCK YOU! I'LL SHOW YOU!"

The man turned and stormed away aimlessly, coincidentally heading for the forest.

As he stumbled into the forest, Sugou growled, hatred practically flowing out of body. As Sugou continued to curse his father, a black ball of chakra floated in front of him.

Sugou blinked as he noticed the ball. Curious, the man touched it. And as soon as he touched it, the ball of chakra burst, all the black chakra flowing into him from his mouth, chest, eyes and ears.

Sugou screamed as the large amount of chakra flowed into his body. As soon as the chakra finished entering his body, Sugou fell to the ground unconscious.

Then, his body started to change. His hair turned blonde, growing to neck length. His ears also elongated, turning pointy at the ends, and his previously black eyes took on a yellow hue. More importantly, he grew a pair of green transparent wings.

After a few hours, Sugou woke up, and he rubbed his eyes groggily, "What the fuck happened?"

The man slowly stood up before he realised his hair had grown, and had turned blonde. Sugou blinked before he felt the power pulsing within him.

The man took a moment to sense what he had, and he started laughing, "YES! THIS IS THE POWER I WANT! THIS IS THE POWER I NEED!"

The man continued laughing in glee as he glared at the sky, 'JUST YOU WAIT, NOBUYUKI RYOUTARO, AND ALL OF YOU MONGRELS! I WILL GET WHAT I DESERVE!'

Sugou looked at his hair again before he smirked, "Hmph. I need a new name."

He looked around and noticed his wings, then the man smirked again, "Hmm... Very well. FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, I SHALL BE KNOWN AS THE FAIRY KING, OBERON!"

The now named Oberon smirked before he flew away, subconsciously heading for the ruins of Aincrad.

XXX

DONE. So yeah, that's the 54th chapter. And Oberon makes his appearance. So, that marks the start of the Oberon arc.

Review please. If you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to tell me. I'm all for suggestions.

Until the next chapter.


	55. Chapter 55

Hey. This is the 55th chapter. Damn this story has come so far.

So, to the **Guest** , if you don't know Oberon, then you obviously haven't fully watched/read SAO yet. Oberon is one of the most hated, if not _the_ most hated characters in the series

To **TheB** , yeah, I'm pretty sure almost everyone will hate me for what I have planned for this arc. In fact, I don't blame you if you drop the story after the next few chapters.

But please, if you don't like this arc, just skip it, and read the Underworld Arc of this story.

To **Antex-the Legendary Zoroark** , again, thank you for your reviews. And well, the dark chakra came from Aincrad. The rest of is explained in this chapter.

Another thing, I might have forgotten to mention this, but since Suguha, or rather Choumei-S received a chakra boost, she can use the full Bijuu mode now. I don't think I will let Fuu have that, not sure anyways. But that'll be decided late.

By the way, sorry for the late update. I know its been two weeks. But I recently started my Bachelor's degree, so my assignments are starting to pile up. So I might not have that much time to do chapters. Of course, I'll do my best to update it once per week.

Anyways, here's the chapter.

XXX

Right after the teams left Sugou at the hotel, Kirito, Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura met up with the girls. After a short visit to Tazuna's house, the two teams went to meet Jiraiya who was, as expected, peeping outside one of the new hotsprings in the area.

The two teams just stared at the white haired man as he scribbled notes while giggling creepily. Hikari sighed and conjured up a chain before pulling Jiraiya away from the peeping hole, causing him to yelp for being interrupted.

The hermit glared at his goddaughter as she removed the chains, "You could've waited, ya know?"

Hikari huffed, "We don't have all day. Besides, you called us here."

Kakashi cleared his throat, "Now now, I'm sure it wouldn't have hurt to wait a few minutes."

Hikari snapped her head over and glared at the cyclops, "Shut it, scarecrow."

Kakashi wisely shut up, earning a silent chuckle from everyone else as Hikari turned back to Jiraiya, "So, what did you want? Its something about a hideout, right?"

Jiraiya grumbled about disrespectful goddaughters before he said, "Yeah, one of Orochimaru's hideouts. That snake's been off the radar for a while, but I managed to find one of his hideouts on one of the more hidden islands. So we'll scout out the place, and possibly destroy it."

The two teams nodded as Jiraiya pointed his thumb at one of the ships at the harbor, "I've already prepared a ship, so get some rest, we leave tomorrow at dawn."

The sage started walking towards one of the inns in the area, and the others just sighed before following him.

(linebreak)

That evening, at the ruins of Aincrad, Oberon smirked as he looked over the remains of the structure. The man thought aloud, "Hmph, it may be destroyed, but a lot of the things here can be reused."

During the time he flew, the self proclaimed 'Fairy King' had knowledge pop into his head continuously, due to the dark orb of chakra he absorbed, and to his glee, Oberon didn't need to waste his time gathering followers and resources.

What most didn't know, was that while Kayaba Akihiko had set Aincrad to self destruct, most of the seals were intact. (which most of them Kayaba didn't use, except for a select few, which is quite a lot considering the massive amount of seals the man had placed in it)

Along with that, most of the material was there, and the technology could be rebuilt, with the right power and information.

That power and information had been split into two, and one of them, had been assimilated by Nobuyuki Sugou, or as he called himself, the Fairy King Oberon. (I don't think I need to tell you who received the other half.)

Now, the blonde smirked and channelled his newly obtained chakra into the ruins in front of him. The rocks moved, but only for a little bit before they fell to the ground.

Oberon frowned and looked at his hand, 'Hmm, it seems I still have yet to have a full grasp of my chakra. No matter... Its just a matter of time before I get all of it done.'

The blonde then smirked maniacally, 'AND ALL THE WOMEN WILL BE MINE, ESPECIALLY THE FOUR OF THEM... AND THAT MONGREL, ALONG WITH THAT SHITSTAIN WILL PAY!'

The man then looked at the ruins again before he tried again. But unfortunately for him, Oberon would keep failing, though would make bits of progress every few hours.

(linebreak)

The next day, the two teams were at the harbor, waiting by a relatively large ship. As they waited, a middle aged man walked to them quickly with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry for the wait."

Jiraiya nodded, "Its fine, Yaguruma, are we ready to go?"

No one objected, and everyone soon boarded the ship. The captain of the ship, Yaguruma, calmly moved the ship towards the south.

As they waited on the ship, Sasuke asked, "So, what kind of island is this?"

Jiraiya nodded after seeing everyone's attention on him, "From what my spies gathered, its a rather isolated island. No one would know where it was if they didn't know of it."

Everyone nodded as the sage continued, "There are several entrances to the island's interior. A few of them are guarded by Orochimaru's experiments, mostly large creatures. Although, there is an unguarded entrance for supplies."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "Unguarded?"

Jiraiya hmm'd before he answered, "Not exactly unguarded, more like instead of his experiments that became massive monsters, it's guarded normally by normal guards."

Everyine oh'd before Jiraiya pointed to a spiky looking rock at a distance, "That's the island. Its supposedly a prison, but my spies told me Orochimaru sometimes come here to do experiments on the prisoners."

Everyone nodded. It was cruel, but it was effective, at least, if you assume the test subjects were disposable.

After half an hour, the ship neared the island, and Jiraiya nodded to Yaguruma. The captain slowly turned the ship to move around the island as Jiraiya spoke, "We'll look for the entrance, but we can't move too close."

The ship slowly approached the island, circling it as the ninja tried to look for the unguarded, or rather, guarded entrance. Guarded, as in by normal men, not by the monsters that were definitely lurking beneath the ocean.

Then, Kirito caught sight of something in the water, and he quickly realized what it was. Everyone else also saw it, but they were too late.

A massive creature burst out of the water, barely missing the ship as it rose out of the water. But that was enough to shake the ship, causing everyone to stumble around before the ship stabilised a bit.

Then they saw it. It was a massive black serpent, slightly smaller than the average boss summon size. (Imagine a degraded, smaller and black version of the Leviathan from FFXV)

The serpent roared at the ship, causing two other identical serpents to rise from the water, surrounding the ship.

Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha nodded to each other, and they started to move to the edge of the ship when Yui shot out of Kirito's chest.

The pixie yelled, "Wait!"

Everyone turned, surprised at the sudden yell from the girl. Yui flew and stopped in front of her mothers, "Let me and Papa try."

They blinked, confused at what she was saying. Sinon asked, "Erm, Yui-chan, what do you mean?"

Yui placed her hands on her hips, "You all have a big Kaijuu form, and I want to try!"

Everyone just sweatdropped, and even the serpents were not sure what to do. Yui the stopped in front of Kirito and said, "Just do what I say, okay, Papa?"

Kirito nodded, unsure what was happening as Yui returned to her seal. Then he heard his daughter's voice, "Now Papa, chant this spell, and imagine one of the bosses from Aincrad."

A list of words appeared in his mind and Kirito nodded, an image of a familiar demon appearing in his mind. Then the man started to chant, "Þeír hræða nótt dýpt, renn helvegr!"

Then, Kirito glowed and he started to run towards the edge of the ship, and he jumped upwards.

Then, a massive arm came down, grabbing onto one of the serpents, slamming it into the water.

And everyone saw it. Landing on the ground, was the Gleam Eyes, its sword gleaming on its back. The girls' eyes widened as they quickly realized what had happened.

Asuna asked in awe, "H-how did Kirito-kun?"

Kakashi stared at the beast as he flung the serpent away, "Yui, she was a part of Aincrad, right? So that may be how he can do it."

Jiraiya chuckled, "A family full of Jinchurikii, and Bijuu, huh..."

Technically the sage wasn't wrong. Yui was essentially a Bijuu, so that made Kirito sort of a Jinchurikii.

With Kirito, he looked down in surprise. The man had not expected to transform into the Gleam Eyes itself. Yui said proudly, and Kirito could feel her beaming, "Papa, this is our power!"

Kirito grinned and nodded, "Yeah, let's go, Yui!"

The Gleam Eyes charged forward, swinging his fist at one of the serpents, and sent it flying away, crashing into the water.

The other serpent roared at Kirito, and it dove under water before coming up, wrapping itself around the Gleam Eyes.

At that moment, the other two serpents shot out from the water, and went to bite the Gleam Eyes' head off.

But Kirito and Yui were prepared. The Gleam Eyes' eyes started to glow, and he opened his mouth, sending a blast of purple chakra at the two serpents, sending them flying away yet again.

Then, Kirito opened his mouth and bit straight into the serpent, causing the serpent to roar in pain as it tried to pull away. But Kirito didn't let go, and continued to bite into the serpent, breaking it in half.

He pulled the zanbatou on his back to the front and sliced the serpent in half, letting the remains fall into the water.

Then, the Gleam Eyes charged, proceeding to butcher the other serpents. As Kirito cut one of the two serpents in half, Suguha pouted, "Mou... And here I wanted to try using Choumei's full power in real battle..."

Choumei-S chuckled in the seal, "You'll get your chance, Suguha. Don't worry about that."

Suguha just leaned on the edge of the ship as they watched Kirito quickly kill the last serpent. Hikari grinned at him as the Glean Eyes walked to them, "Not bad, Kirito-kun."

Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and Sasuke nodded in agreement. The Gleam Eyes seemed to smile, which looked really weird before he vanished in a swirl of chakra, leaving Kirito falling and landing onto the ship.

The man grinned as he landed, "How's that?"

The girls smiled and Asuna said, "You did great, Kirito-kun... Though, why the Gleam Eyes?"

Kirito furrowed his brows, "Hmm, it was the first thing that came to mind, since Yui told me to imagine one of the bosses from Aincrad."

Everyone nodded before Sakura asked, "So... You bit one of those serpents, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, why?"

Sakura asked, a bit hesitant, "How did it taste?"

The swordsman grinned, "Ah... It tasted great... Like a mix between chicken and fish... Coulda used a bit spice though."

Sakura and the captain's face slightly paled, the former because among all the people who could turn into a giant avatar/beast/bijuu, Kirito was the only one to have bit/eaten any of their enemies.

Sinon frowned slightly and hit Kirito on the head, "Don't joke around please, Kirito-kun."

Kirito just laughed before Jiraiya said, "Well, that's one thing covered... But..."

Kakashi nodded, "No doubt they know we're here now, so we have to move fast."

Sasuke looked out over to the island, "I think we can walk over to the island from here."

Hikari grinned and shook her head, "No need, you forgot about me... And Kirito-kun."

Jiraiya nodded, "Yeah, that's what I was planning too. Hikari, Kirito, we'll need you two to teleport all of us over."

The man sighed while Hikari nodded. The Uzumaki threw a Hiraishin kunai at the island after dropping one on the deck. Kirito followed by shooting a copy of a random sword at the island.

After a few minutes, the two teams, plus one Sage were on the island, and they had easily taken out the guards that were there. Of course, they also had Yaguruma stay on stand by in case anything happened.

Now, the group was in the corridors in the hideout, more specifically, at a crossroad. Jiraiya said, "Okay, we'll split into three. Hikari, Kirito, Sakura, Sasuke, you four go to the right. Kakashi, Suguha, Sinon and Asuna, you four on the left. I'll head on. Meet up here once you're done."

The group members nodded and they quickly moved on to their respective paths.

With Kirito, Hikari, Sakura and Sasuke, the four were moving carefully through the corridors before they reached a rather large hall with cells all around them.

The four ignored most of the roars and yells from ththe prisoners, knowing they were failed experiments from Orochimaru's tests. What they were looking for, was the office, where most of the important data definitely was stored.

As they walked, Hikari stopped briefly as she turned to a door that looked slightly different from the other cells. Kirito noticed her stopping and asked, "What's wrong, Hikari-chan?"

Hikari stared at the door, "I sensed a chakra signature, it felt familiar."

Sasuke asked, "Familiar? How?"

Hikari narrowed her eyes, "It felt like when we went to the ruins of Uzu no Kuni."

Sakura's eyes widened, "You don't think?"

Kirito nodded, seeing where this was going, "If Hikari-chan's right, this might be the missing Uzumaki we saw in the scroll."

Sasuke nodded, "Let's check it out."

The three nodded as they approached the door. Sasuke placed his hand on the handle, his other hand gripping his chokuto, while Kirito readied the Elucidator, Hikari summoning her chains, and Sakura clenching her fists.

The Uchiha shared nods with everyone, then he pushed the door open before quickly rushing in, startling the only occupant inside, who was coincidentally sleeping on the desk in the roon.

The red haired girl jumped up, yelling, "I'm awake!"

Only then did she notice who the four people that came in really were, and she blushed, "Sorry..."

The four only nodded, not knowing what to do. The redhead then realised what had happened and asked with a menacing tone, "Wait, who are you?! What are you doing here?!"

Then the girl's eyes widened as she sensed their chakra, and she snapped her head at Hikari, "Y-you're.."

Hikari nodded, "An Uzumaki, like you."

The girl's eyes moistened before she beamed, "I thought I had no one left! But Orochimaru-sama mentioned your name, and I-"

The girl burst into tears as Hikari wrapped her arms around her, letting the bespectacled girl cry in her arms.

After a short moment, the redhead calmed down, and Sasuke asked, "So, who are you? What's your name?"

The girl smiled, "Uzumaki Karin, you're Uchiha Sasuke right? I remember you from the Chunnin Exams. Actually, I remember all of you from the exams."

Sasuke blinked, "You were there?"

Karin nodded, "I didn't enter with my Uzumaki name of course, Orochimaru-sama said it was a cover of sorts. But you saved me from a bear in the second stage."

Sasuke blinked, "Did I?"

Karin nodded with a smile, "I mean, you probably didn't realise it, since you went off as soon as you killed it."

The Uchiha furrowed his brows, "I don't recall anything. But to be honest, I don't remember much from the second part."

Sakura nodded, "Of course, that was when you got the mark from Orochimaru."

Karin oh'd with Kirito and Hikari before the swordsman looked at the Uzumaki, "So, you're following us, right?"

The Uzumaki nodded with a grin, "Well, I'm really bored here, since Orochimaru-sama and Kabuto both are asses, and I only stuck by them because they were the only ones I knew... Sure, I'll follow you guys, I'll even give you all the info I have on the snake, but on one condition."

Hikari blinked in confusion, "That is?"

Karin grinned and stared at Sasuke, "I want him."

Sakura snapped, "NO! Absolutely NOT!"

Karin pouted, "Why?"

Sakura glared at her, "He's mine! Besides, why do you want him? You just met him!"

Karin just grinned but didn't give an answer. What they didn't know, was that Karin's sensory skills were far better than Hikari, though not as good as Kurama's.

That allowed her to sense and get a feel of a person's chakra when she was near them. And Sasuke's chakra was exactly her type.

Hikari sighed, "Fine...Do what you want..."

Sasuke blinked in shock, "Wait, what?!"

Karin beamed and embraced Sasuke, causing Sakura to pull the Uzumaki off of him. Kirito sighed, "Let's go."

Karin and Hikari nodded, while Sasuke and Sakura were just annoyed. Well, the pinkette was, Sasuke was more confused than anything.

The five quickly exited the room and continued to search the area, but would end up with next to nothing other than the stuff they found in Karin's cell.

(Linebreak)

At the same time, with Kakashi, Suguha, Sinon and Asuna, the team of four moved through the corridors quickly, scanning the area for anything that was noteworthy.

Then, they reached a rather special cell. Unlike the other cells, this one was rather thick, with no openings, as if it was built to keep in something strong.

The three girls frowned, as they were technically all Sages, and they could feel the foul nature chakra pouring out from the room.

Kakashi asked, seeing the girls' discomfort, "What's wrong?"

Asuna glanced at the door, "Something is in this cell, and it's leaking nature chakra."

Suguha and Sinon nodded, the archer added, "And whatever it is, the chakra its leaking is twisted."

Kakashi nodded and asked, "So, should we move on, or you girls want to check it out?"

The three girls shared a look and nodded. They couldn't leave this alone, not when the chakra was so tainted.

Asuna said, "Let's see what's inside."

The copy ninja nodded and approached the door. The man glanced at the girls, who all had their weapons drawn, and he nodded.

Kakashi easily picked the locks before he pushed the door open slowly. Then he heard a voice, "So, what are you? A man, or a woman?"

The door opened, and Kakashi saw a man with orange hair, more importantly, with the right half of his face being grey, cursed marks all over his face.

The man smirked maniacally, "Bingo."

Without another word, the man charged forward with impressive speed, given he had a large metal sphere tied to his leg. Kakashi immediately slammed the door shut and jumped back, "Move!"

The three girls managed to react in time as they jumped away, just as Jugo smashed through the metal door.

Jugo grinned maniacally as he saw the three girls, "Ah WHO CARES! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

The girls quickly leaped away, dispersing as Jugo crashed into the wall. Kakashi frowned as he pulled his headband, revealing his Sharingan, "This man... He's Tenbin no Jugo..."

Asuna asked as she landed beside him, "Tenbin... no Jugo? Who is he?"

Kakashi said as Jugo charged at Suguha and Sinon, the two dodging the man easily, "A few years back, there was a rumor about a boy in a village. He was abnormal, in the sense that he was extremely powerful."

Jugo smashed right through a wall as he continued his attacks relentlessly, laughing as he did.

Kakashi continued, "But that boy had... anger issues. Anyone, anything, that made him even a bit angry, would trigger him, causing him to go berserk. And that boy ended up killing the entire village."

The girls all looked in shock as Jugo continued his attacks, smashing through more walls. Kakashi frowned, "But, a few years back, he vanished. Who knew he'd be here?"

Asuna asked, "So, all this because of him with tainted nature chakra?"

Kakashi nodded, "Most likely, yes."

The rapier user nodded as she gripped her rapier hard, "Then, if we take out that chakra, we can stop his berserker state."

Kakashi wanted sigh, but seeing how Asuna was practically sisters with Hikari, he should have seen it comin. The man nodded, "Fine, but how?"

Before the girl could answer, Jugo suddenly turned and charged them, more specifically, at Asuna. The man roared maniacally as he swung his fist at the girl, causing Suguha and Sinon to yell out in worry.

But Asuna was prepared, as she swiftly entered sage mode. Then, Jugo's fist struck the girl, sending her into the wall. Then, to add in, a piston grew on Jugo's forearm, and he pushed piston, further pushing against the girl.

Normally, that would have killed anyone. But not a kunoichi in sage mode, and Jugo's eyes widened as he saw Asuna's blue hair, his fist caught by Asuna's single left palm.

Then, Asuna sent Jugo crashing into the opposite wall with a burst of chakra at her palm. The man growled as he got up shakily, "W-who are you?!"

Asuna stared at him, "Asuna, my name is Yuki Asuna."

Before the man could react, Asuna flashed through a set of one handed seals, "Hyoton : Hyoro no jutsu."

Immediately, ice encased Jugo, leaving only his head in the open. The man struggled, but to no avail as the ice kept him completely still, "LET ME GO! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Suguha and Sinon walked to them, wary of Jugo. Sinon asked, "Asuna-chan, what are you doing?"

The now blue haired girl nodded, "I'm gonna try extracting his senjutsu chakra."

Suguha blinked, "You can do that?"

Asuna nodded, "That tainted chakra is a poison, of sorts. If I apply the poison removal technique, with Senjutsu, it should be possible."

The two girls blinked as Isobu replied from the seal, "Its possible. I'll help."

Asuna smiled as she said mentally, 'Thank you, Isobu.'

The Sanbi just grunted in reply as Asuna focused on the ice prison, seeping her own senjutsu chakra into the ice.

Then, the girl pulled, and with Isobu's help in pinpointing the chakra, the tainted senjutsu chakra slowly escaped from Jugo's body, causing his body to return to normal.

The man blinked several times, as he suddenly felt calmer than he ever did. Jugo stared at Asuna, "W-what did you do?"

The girl smiled, "I removed the tainted senjutsu chakra from your body."

Isobu added in Asuna's mind, "He should also be able to draw on and use senjutsu much more easily now. He has a natural affinity for it, but he screwed up the first time, and the tainted chakra stayed in his body, occasionally acting up. That's why he always got those massive mood swings. "

Asuna nodded and told Jugo that. The man frowned slightly and took in a bit of nature chakra, causing his skin to turn grey. But he didn't feel angry, instead, he felt calm, more than he ever felt. The man gaped at the girl, not bothered by the fact that he was still encased in ice.

Jugo stammered, "Y-you stopped my anger. Y-you calmed me down. No one... other than Kimimaro, could do that."

Asuna nodded with a smile, "Its okay now, you shouldn't get any more of those massive modd swings anymore."

Jugo nodded before he took a deep breath, and he spoke seriously, "I pledge my loyalty to you, Yuki Asuna, and I will follow you to the depths of hell."

Asuna and the other girls blinked, "Eh?"

Jugo nodded, "You cured me of my... anger fits. I owe you my life, so I will follow you, and I will act as your shield."

Asuna and the girls didn't know how to respond, but Kakashi asked, "How do we know you won't betray her?"

Jugo looked at Kakashi, and he nodded, "I swear on my blood and pride, that I pledge my undying loyalty to Yuki Asuna, and I will follow her until the day I die."

Kakashi sighed and nodded. That was actually the best he could get from Jugo, and he knew it. Ninja technically had no honor, but they had pride. Plus, no one would swear on their blood with no reason.

The copy ninja turned to the girls, "Asuna, you can let him go. It should be fine."

Asuna nodded before she made the ice melt, leaving Jugo falling to to the ground, shivering subconsciously. The rapier user shared a look with her two sisters before she glanced at Jugo, "We'll believe you... For now. If you even try to betray us, we'll end you."

Jugo nodded, silently using chakra to heat his body, "Of course."

The man knew none of them trusted him. Not yet at least. Jugo had attacked them immediately after they opened his cell after all.

But Asuna had managed to stop his anger fits, and he was extremely grateful for that. Thus, he pledged his loyalty to her, and he would act as her shield.

After Jugo managed to recover somewhat, the group, with an addition of one person, quickly searched through the area again, but apart from experiment reports, they didn't find anything noteworthy.

A few hours later, the Konoha ninja Karin and Jugo met up at point they split.

Karin gaped as soon as she saw Jugo, "You let him out?!"

Hikari asked, "What's wrong, Karin?"

The redhead turned to her relative before she snapped her head to Jugo, who seemed perfectly fine, "That guy is a BEAST! He'll kill anyone that pisses him off even a bit!"

Jugo stared at Karin and nodded, "Yes, just a few hours ago, I would. But Asuna-sama helped, and I am able to use senjutsu normally now."

Kirito blinked and glanced at the auburn haired girl, "Asuna-sama?"

Asuna sighed and she rubbed her temples as Jugo said, "Yes, I owe her my life. Therefore, I swore my loyalty to her."

The others sighed as Hikari asked Asuna, "Are you sure he should follow us?"

The rapier user nodded, "Yeah, he's strong, and well... He seems genuine."

Sasuke nodded and said quietly to the girls, "Yeah, but be careful. Regardless of what he said, he's still someone Orochimaru experimented on."

Jiraiya nodded, "Exactly. Speaking of which, this place seems to be a lab filled with lab rats for him more than anything."

Karin nodded, "Yes, that was what he intended for this place anyways. I just stayed in my room unless he wanted anything though."

Kakashi then asked, "That aside, who are you? From your hair, you're an Uzumaki, right?"

Karin grinned, "Yep! And I'm following my dear cousin Hikari and Sasuke-kun back."

Sakura grumbled something about stupid whores before Sasuke calmed her down as he squeezed her hand softly.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head, then he turned to Jiraiya, "So, what did you find, Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya nodded, "I found nothing much on my side, and I see both of your teams found a... person each. So, anything else you wanna check here?"

The sage directed the question to everyone, including the two former Oto (?) ninja. Jugo shook his head, while Karin just shrugged, "Nah, let's get the hell outta here."

Everyone nodded, not wanting to stay any longer.

Soon, the group boarded the ship, and they quickly sailed away from the island. As they reached a fair amount of distance from the hideout, Jiraiya looked at Hikari and the blonde turned to Suguha, "Suguha-chan, care to do the honors?"

The katana user grinned and nodded. She thought, 'Let's go, Choumei.'

Choumei-S grinned as Suguha jumped up, turning into the Seven Tailed Kabutomushi, hovering over the ship as she looked at the island.

Then, blue and black chakra gathered at the Bijuu's mouth, and Suguha and Choumei-S both yelled in unison, "BIJUUDAMA!"

The ultimate attack of the Bijuu sailed through the air before it struck the island, causing a massive explosion.

The explosion subsided, leaving a rather large crater in its place before the sea water rushed to fill it, leaving not a trace that showed that an island ever existed there.

Suguha dispelled the transformation and landed on the ship safely. The girl grinned, "How's that?"

Hikari smiled, "Not bad, for your first try."

Sinon and Asuna nodded in agreement as they commented about Suguha's usage of the Bijuudama.

As the four girls talked, at a side, Kakashi chuckled, "Well, now you have four girlfriends who can turn into Bijuu, what do you think, Kirito?"

Kirito sighed and shook his head, leaning on the edge of the ship as he smiled looking at the girls, "Well, nothing, I guess."

Jiraiya chuckled, "Well, seeing you can do something similar, I guess its not bad. In fact, the five of you would be unstoppable together."

Kirito was about to respond when Yui shot out from his seal, beaming as she said, "Of course! Papa and all my Mamas are the best!"

Jiraiya only chuckled before he said, "Yeah... Though, Sasuke seems to have it rough over there."

The two men turned and saw Sakura arguing with Karin, with Sasuke trying to diffuse the situation. Kakashi chuckled, "He could use some advice from you, Kirito."

Kirito shook his head with a sigh, "I don't think I can help him. Asuna-chan, Hikari-chan, Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan all agreed to share. I had no say in it in the first place."

Kirito looked at the girls, "If they hadn't agreed to that, I don't think I would've chosen any of them. It wouldn't be fair to them."

Jiraiya smiled, "Spoken like a true man."

Kakashi nodded, "Yep."

Kirito just shook his head as he glanced out at the ocean. He frowned, for some reason, he had a bad feeling about the things that were to come.

(linebreak)

Meanwhile, with Oberon, the self proclaimed fairy king had just managed to get the hang of using his chakra. But unfortunately, he couldn't build his fortress yet. But he was a patient man, so all he had to do was continue training.

The blonde smirked, "Hmph, now... What else can I do?"

The man then felt a pulse of chakra within the ground. He frowned and walked over to the source. Then his frown turned into a smirk.

Oberon reached out, placing his hands parallel to the ground. Then he closed his fist, as if to grab something.

The rubble started to shake, as golden chakra shot out of the ground, gathering around Oberon's hand, before slowly forming a golden sword.

The guard of the sword was shaped like a small set of wings and had a small, triangle-like plate with three green gems on it.

The blonde smirked, "This... Its a good sword. I shall call it, the Excalibur."

Oberon then smirked again, "Now, let's test out what this little thing can do..."

He spread his wings and shot up into the sky, heading for the same village he was in just a day or so ago.

Sugou/Oberon quickly reached Nami no Kuni, and to his glee, he spotted his father walking past a dark alley, with his samurai guards.

Oberon quickly landed in front of his father and smirked, "Hello, Nobuyuki Ryoutarou."

The man immediately narrowed his eyes, signalling his samurai guards to stay on alert, "Who are you?"

Oberon huffed quietly before he smirked manically, "What's wrong, don't you recognise me, dear father?"

Ryoutarou's eyes widened, "Sugou?!"

Sugou, or rather Oberon, smirked, "Hmph, took you long enough."

Ryoutarou frowned, "I thought I told you to learn how to behave yourself."

Oberon frowned, "And I have to follow your orders why?"

The self proclaimed king smirked, "I'm not your son anymore, so I can do whatever I want, however I want. And now, I want your life."

Ryoutarou's eyes widened as Oberon snapped his fingers, causing the samurai around him to drop their heads and arms. The man asked, "What did you do?!"

Sugou smirked, "I made them my slaves."

That was one of the powers he received from the seals of Aincrad after he learned to utilise them, forced slavery. And he was using that to control the samurai.

Oberon flicked his wrists, causing the samurai to charge his father, swiftly cutting off his four limbs before Ryoutarou could do anything.

Oberon smirked as he slowly walked over to his father, holding the Excalibur in his hands. Ryoutarou asked in pain, "W-why are you?!"

He was cut off as Oberon pressed the blade into his mouth, and the self proclaimed king said madly, "YOU DON'T GET TO ASK WHY?! YOU TOSSED ME ASIDE, YOU EXCUSE OF A FATHER!"

Oberon smirked as he twisted the blade, cutting the man's mouth from the inside, "So, I'm gonna make sure you suffer, bit by bit."

For the next thirty minutes, Sugou/Oberon used the blade to cut Ryoutarou's face/mouth, leaving the man with serious wounds.

Then, the blonde raised the golden sword, and with a swift thrust, the Excalibur pierced right through Ryoutarou's forehead, killing him right on the spot.

Sugou/Oberon smirked as he turned and swiftly killed all the samurai, not caring that everyone saw what he did. Then, he extended his wings and left the area.

XXX

Done. So, that's the 55th chapter. Review please.

Btw, since the sword from Ordinal Scale has no name. Any ideas?

This is what I'm thinking, 'Arondight', 'Caliburn', 'Clarent', 'The Destiny'

Please tell me if you have any ideas. Until next time.


	56. Chapter 56

Hello guys, this is the 56th chapter. So sorry it took so long. I recently started my degree in pharmacy, and my schedule is very packed... So the updates might take a little longer to complete.

To **Guest-questioner** , glad you're back man. Well, I probably won't bring in too many characters yet. And to be honest, I am planning to bring in Rain, Seven and Yuuki, just not so soon. Rain is, after all, my favourite in-game exclusive character.

Argo is in the story, though she's not an importantcharacter, since she's not a fighter, but an informant here.

And they won't be in Kirito's harem, just so I make it clear. They will have a sibling type relationship with him.

As for the sword from Ordinal Scale, I thought about it, and I think I'll just call it as it is, the Ordinal Scale.

 **Dracus-7** , for that crossover, it won't work for me... The difference in technology is too great. Setsuna would one-shot everyone with a simple Trans-AM Raiser and Tieria would do the same with just Virtue. So no.

And I still have my poll for the next story in my profile. If any of you are interested, or you like my work, you can look it up.

With that aside, let's start with the chapter.

XXX

A few days later, Oberon/Sugou had finally managed to master his powers to a decent level. But unknown to the man, the more he used those powers, the more his memories disorientated.

Oberon couldn't remember much about his life at that point. But there was one thing that would linger forever in his mind. His lust for Asuna and Hikari, and his hate for Kirito.

Unfortunately for Oberon, he couldn't remember the specifics. Only that blonde hair and chestnut coloured hair. In his delusional mindset, the King decided to name Asuna 'Titania', and Hikari as 'Ciela'. But that's not important.

So after building his fortress and forming his army of knights and archers, (which looks like a smaller version of the base of the World Tree in ALO) Oberon sent out several squads in his army to search for any girls with blonde or chestnut coloured hair near Hi no Kuni.

That lead to the current situation in the Hokage's office, as Tsunade had received complaints/requests about armored soldiers abducting girls with blonde or chestnut/auburn coloured haired.

The woman had a rough idea of who the man was, since Hikari and Asuna had complained about it when they had dinner after returning from destroying Orochimaru's hideout.

Hence, the reason why she had called in the members of team Gai (without Gai), Kirito, Sinon, Asuna and Suguha.

Tsunade said as she looked at the eight people in front of her, "Recently, I've received reports and requests about knights kidnapping girls. And they all just so happen to be around the age of 20, with blonde and light brown hair."

The eight of them frowned, and Kirito asked, "So, you want us to investigate this?"

Tsunade nodded, "Hikari and Asuna fit the descriptions. And I suspect this has something to do with Sugou, but it still doesn't make sense. So I want Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha to investigate this, and Kirito, Neji, Tenten and Lee, you four will back them up."

Neji nodded, "I see. If it was Sugou, he would have came straight to Konoha, since he knows both of them are here."

The Hokage nodded, "Exactly."

Lee nodded with vigor in his eyes, "YOSH! WE'LL FIND OUT WHO THIS UNYOUTHFUL PERSON IS!"

Tenten and Neji both sighed, while Kirito and the girls just sweatdropped at his enthusiasm.

The last Senju cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention, "Okay, one more thing, I had Shikaku analyse the reports, and he found that the abductions all happen near the remains of Aincrad."

That got Kirito's attention, "Aincrad?"

Tsunade nodded, "That's the main reason why I'm having you join this mission. With Yui, you have the most knowledge about Aincrad."

Kirito nodded as Yui shot out of his seal in her pixie form and saluted to the Hokage, "Aye aye ma'am!"

Tsunade just smiled and nodded before she turned to the others, "Kirito will lead the mission. You may leave at your own leisure, but try to leave tomorrow by noon at latest."

The eight of them nodded as Tsunade dismissed them.

Outside the office, Kirito looked at the seven ninja, "Okay, how about we leave in an hour?"

Neji nodded, "I'm fine with it."

Tenten nodded, and Lee yelled, "YOSH! KIRITO-SAN IS OUR CAPTAIN FOR THIS MISSION! WE'LL GO WITH ANYTHING YOU DECIDE!"

The other girls nodded in agreement. Kirito sighed, "Okay, pack for a week, and meet up at the gates in an hour."

The members of Team Gai nodded and left to pack while Kirito and the girls went back to their compound.

Several hours later, the two teams were at one of the villages close to the ruins of Aincrad. (By now Kirito has his Dark Repulsor reforged and fixed, just in case anyone is wondering) . Tenten asked as they walked, "So, what do we do now?"

Kirito frowned, "We look for those knights. And unfortunately, we'll have to let them take Hikari-chan and Asuna-chan."

The girls nodded, knowing it was necessary. Neji said, "Then we'll know where the girls are brought to."

Suguha suggested as she looked at the time, "How about we stay at the inn for the night? I mean, its quite late now."

No one objected, as they quickly headed for an inn, where they paid for two large rooms and stayed for the night.

Unknown to them, that night, in Oberon's fortress, the man smiled gleefully as he sensed their presence. The self proclaimed king laughed, "FINALLY! I HAVE FOUND YOU BOTH, MY LOVES!"

Oberon stood up from his throne and walked to a window, staring at the direction of the village the teams from Konoha were in. The blonde smiled, "Tomorrow, I will see you two again, my Titania, and Ciela."

The king then turned away and headed back to his quarters, the two girls being the only people in his mind.

At the same time, in Kirito's shared room with the four girls, Asuna and Hikari both shivered slightly before they calmed down as Kirito subconsciously tightened his arms over them.

(linebreak)

The next day, the two groups checked out of the inn and went to gather information around the village.

After a few hours, the two teams gathered at the center of the village. Kirito said, "So, it seems those knights come here at noon."

Neji nodded, "Yeah, and like the reports told us, they always take girls with blonde or light brown hair."

Lee frowned, "YOSH! WE'LL FIND WHO THIS UNYOUTHFUL PERSON IS, AND STOP HIS ACTIONS!"

Tenten sighed, "So, what should we do?"

Everyone turned to Asuna and Hikari, since they were the ones who fitted the descriptions perfectly. The two girls shared a look and Asuna sighed, "I guess we'll have to act as bait. When those knights come, we let them take us, and find where they're going."

Kirito frowned, "I don't like it, but I guess it can't be helped. But, if I see anything bad, I'll jump in, mission be damned."

The girls smiled at his protectiveness, while Neji nodded, "Of course, we wouldn't expect anything else."

Tenten and Lee nodded in agreement, though the former had to bash the latter on the head before he could shout out again.

Sinon nodded, "Okay, let's begin then."

The group quickly moved. Kirito, Neji, Tenten and Lee scouted the area and hid in places so that they could jump out easily, yet stay hidden from sight.

Suguha and Sinon did the same, except on higher ground so that Sinon could snipe any enemies with her bow, with Suguha guarding her.

As for Asuna and Hikari, the two changed into civilian clothes, with Hikari letting her hair down. Of course, they kept all of their equipment under the clothes, in case anything happened.

Soon enough, by noon, almost every female cleared the streets, leaving only men walking around, and not before long, a small squadron of knights marched in.

Without a word, the knights started searching the area, most likely for girls/women with blonde and light brown hair.

In their hiding spot, Kirito frowned, "They sure aren't making any effort in staying quiet."

Yui nodded in agreement as she materialised in the real world. Neji frowned as he scanned the knights, "Weird... I cannot see any chakra source in them. Its as if they are mere summons, or rather, puppets."

Tenten nodded, "Its not that strange, it may be like how Nagato-san used his paths."

Lee nodded, whispering loudly, "MAYBE."

Kirito nodded before he narrowed his eyes, "Quiet... Here they come."

The swordsman glanced upwards by 45 degrees and spotted Suguha and Sinon on top of one of the higher buildings nearby, exactly in front and above them. The three shared a nod before they focused on the knights.

The knights quickly searched the village, barging into shops and houses, but never coming out with anyone in their grasps.

That was the case, until they noticed Hikari and Asuna sitting by the road on a long bench.

The knights immediately surrounded the two girls, grabbing their arms to take them away. And that was what the ninjas intended, though Hikari and Asuna both acted as if they were struggling to avoid suspicion.

Soon, as the two girls were being taken away, Kirito spoke, "Yui."

The pixie shot out his seal and saluted to him, "Got it, Papa!"

The small girl quickly flew away, following after the knights. Kirito then nodded to Neji, Tenten and Lee, signalling them to move, before he glanced up at Suguha and Sinon, also telling them to move.

With Hikari and Asuna, the two refrained from sighing as the knights pushed them to walk. The girls could easily break out of their bindings, but couldn't fault them since they were meant for normal civilians, or so they thought.

Soon, the two girls, followed by the rest of the team and Yui from a short distance away, reached a familiar area.

Asuna frowned, "Hikari-chan..."

The Kyubi Jinchurikii nodded, "We're at the ruins of Aincrad."

Soon, they reached a large area, but to everyone's surprise, instead of rubble, they were met with the sight of a huge fortress, no traces that Aincrad ever existed.

Asuna and Hikari both glanced back, spotting the others hidden by the trees. The two girls nodded to them, and they nodded back.

The two then followed the knights into the fortress, the gates slamming shut before anyone could act.

Asuna and Hikari snapped their head back, shocked that the gates closed as fast as they did. It was too late, however, as the knights started to push them to move.

Outside, with Kirito and the others, Neji asked, "So, what do we do now?"

Kirito frowned, "We find a way in... Neji, scan the structure for any weak spots. Everyone else, check the area for any clues."

The black swordsman looked at Yui, "Yui, can you help Neji?"

The pixie saluted, "Got it, Papa!"

Yui immediately flew away towards the castle, circling it as she looked for any openings. Neji did the same with his Byakugan, while the others spread out to search for anything useful.

As the team checked for any clues, inside the fortress, Asuna and Hikari were escorted into a rather large throne room. Strangely, it looked like a mini and watered down version of the throne room in Aincrad, with an actual throne at the end of the room.

But what caught the girls' eyes, was the blonde man sitting on the throne, wearing green royal robes, with a golden sword stabbed beside the throne, and he was staring at them gleefully.

However, the sentiment wasn't shared, not in the least, as the girls could practically feel the man mentally undressing them. And they didn't like it one bit.

The blonde man smiled and stood up, spreading his arms in a welcoming manner, "WE FINALLY MEET! MY TITANIA, CIELA! Welcome!"

The two girls instantly recognised the voice, not fond of it at all. Regardless, Asuna asked, "Are you Sugou-san?"

Oberon frowned, "Sugou? No, my name, is Oberon."

His frown turned into a kind smile that did not fit his face at all, "But the two of you can call me whatever you wish, Titania, Ciela."

Hikari frowned slightly, "Ti-tania? Ciela? What are you talking about?"

Oberon's smile drop slightly before he spoke, "It seems your memories have yet to fully return. No matter, we'll take things one at a time."

Asuna and Hikari both shared a look, both slightly confused by what the man was talking about. Though they were sure about one thing, the blonde man was definitely Nobuyuki Sugou, they could feel it in his chakra.

Oberon then frowned as he turned his head to the right slightly, "It seems we have some... uninvited guests."

A small semi-transparent panel appeared in front of him, and Asuna and Hikari both saw the others' faces on it. But what caught their attention, was the change of Oberon's expression the moment the screen focused on Kirito.

The self proclaimed King snapped his fingers, immediately sending a platoon of knights out, "It seems we have some pests to take care of."

He flicked his wrist, causing two slightly smaller thrones to rise up beside his own throne, while the panel enlarged itself until it was the size of a cinema screen.

Oberon turned and started walking towards his throne, "Come, I believe this should serve as a suitable entertainment for us."

Hikari and Asuna both frowned inside, hesitating a bit. For now, Oberon wasn't hostile to them, but as soon as the blonde man sat down, he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, and the girls instantly felt a huge burst of chakra.

The two shared a brief look before they reluctantly sat down on either side of Oberon, the self proclaimed King absolutely oblivious to what the girls were thinking, instead, focused on the screen.

At the same time, back outside, the team had gathered in front of the huge doors again. Kirito asked, "So, what did you all find?"

Suguha and Sinon both shook their heads, having found nothing. Neji and Yui also shook their heads, the Hyuga said, "I scanned the entire building, no openings. But Asuna-san and Hikari-san are both fine."

Yui nodded as Kirito turned to Tenten and Lee. The mini-Gai shouted, "I'M SORRY KIRITO-SAN! WE FOUND NOTHING!"

Tenten winced slightly from the loud shout before she said apologetically, "Yeah, unfortunately, we couldn't find anything. Sorry, Kirito."

The swordsman sighed as he turned to look at the gates, "Its fine... We'll find a way in, eventually."

As the team started to check the fortress again, the gates suddenly opened, surprising the group as 20 knights came out, surrounding them.

Neji frowned as he silently entered his Jyuken stance, "It seems someone doesn't want us to enter."

Kirito nodded as he drew both of his swords, the others preparing themselves for battle.

The knights immediately charged, and everyone went to intercept them, each of them taking on 3 to 4 knights at a time.

The team from Konoha held strong, pushing against the 20 knights as they slowly made for the gates, but no matter how much Kirito, Suguha and Tenten cut down the knights, no matter how much Sinon, Neji and Lee hit them, they always came back.

It was as if they felt no pain. (well, they are puppets, so in a way, yeah)

After a short while, Neji blasted one of the knights away with a Juuken strike, sending it crashing into the trees. He scanned the area, frowning before he yelled, "Kirito-san! Go in! We'll handle this!"

Lee nodded as a punched a knight, sending it falling to the ground, "YOSH! WE'LL HOLD THESE KNIGHTS BACK!"

Tenten nodded as she smashed one of the knights with a huge mace, "GO!"

Suguha slashed down a knight while Sinon blasted a knight away with an explosive arrow before they moved to Kirito, the archer said, "Let's go, Kirito-kun."

The katana user nodded in agreement as she pushed another knight away. Kirito narrowed his eyes as he kicked a knight away, "Got it... But, we'll need to find a way through."

Lee yelled as he kicked another knight away, "WE'LL PAVE A PATH FOR YOU!"

Neji smirked as he realized what Lee wanted to do, "Yeah."

Tenten just sighed as she smashed a knight with her mace before it stood up again.

Lee took a deep breath and opened four gates, his body bursting with power. The green clad man raised his right arm, his palm facing the front, "RYUHA! GOKEN TAIJUTSU SAISHU OUGI!"

As Lee slid into a horse stance, Neji bent down slightly, pulling his right palm back, chakra building up in his arm, "Hakke..."

Then, the two men roared as they pushed their arm (in Lee's case, both arms) forward, "SEKIHA TENKYOKEN/ HASANGEKI!"

From Lee's palms, a huge blast of chakra shot out, a rough shape of a fist/palm in the middle as it blasted the twenty knights away. Coupled with Neji's Mountain Shattering Strike, the two attacks easily removed all the enemies from blocking Kirito and the two girls' path.

But as soon as the attacks ended, the knights were immediately reassembled, though slowly stood up. Neji tch'd before he looked at the others, "Go, we'll hold them back."

Kirito nodded, "Thanks, Neji, Lee, Tenten."

He turned to Suguha and Sinon, sharing nods before they broke into a sprint, charging into the fortress, leaving Tenten, Lee and Neji as they continued to hold the knights back.

As the three ran through the doors, the three slashed/shot down any enemies they saw, moving forward until they reached yet another massive door in front of them.

But before they could approach the gates, a massive creature landed on the ground with a massive boom. And the three got a clear view of the monster.

It was black, grey and ruby in colour, standing on four hind legs with a long tail and huge wings. (The first dragon boss you fight in SAO VS AW in the first meadow field)

The dragon roared at the three as it stood by the gates, guarding it.

Suguha narrowed her eyes as she gripped her katana, "What do we do, Kirito-kun?"

Kirito glared at the dragon, tightening his grip on his two swords, "We fight."

Sinon let out a breath as she took three arrows from her quiver, "Yeah, but how?"

The swordsman was about to extend his wings when he heard Yui's voice, "Papa! Are you forgetting something?"

The man could practically feel his 'daughter' pouting and he chuckled slightly, 'Yeah, sorry. I'll be counting on you, Yui.'

Kirito sheathed his blades and turned his head slightly, "I think I have just the idea."

The man then jumped up, using the Acceleration to push him up higher, before any of the two girls could question what he meant.

Then, Kirito let out a burst of chakra, causing him to glow as he started to grow.

Then, he landed on the ground with a loud boom, not unlike how the dragon did. But instead of Kirito, standing there was a huge familiar samurai, Kagachi the Samurai Lord.

Suguha gaped in surprise, "K-kirito-kun?!"

The massive samurai turned his head slightly and nodded, "Stand back, I'll handle this."

Sinon and Suguha quickly backed away, the archer commented, "I forgot he can do that."

Suguha nodded in agreement before she heard Choumei-S whine, "Why didn't you use our Bijuu mode too?"

The girl smiled forcefully, 'I forgot?'

Choumei-S just continued whining as Suguha tuned the Bijuu out.

Back with Kirito, he drew his katana, holding it in a two-handed grip, staring at the dragon. With the size advantage of the dragon being nullified, it was like Kirito was facing a reptile the size of a horse.

The dragon roared and charged forward, aiming a bite at the samurai's neck. But Kirito saw it coming and smashed the dragon's head with the hilt of his sword.

Then, not missing a beat, Kirito turned and sent a slap kick to the dragon's face, sending it stumbling to its left before it managed to rebalance itself.

The dragon roared and swung its tail at Kirito, and the samurai lord raised his katana, letting the tail hit it. But to his surprise, instead of being sliced into two, the tail struck the blade, pushing him backwards before he pushed it away.

Kirito growled slightly as he glared at the dragon. He didn't want to waste time with the dragon, since he had no idea what was happening to Asuna and Hikari. And he certainly didn't want to take any risks, even if he knew they were strong.

Slashing at the dragon, Kirito pushed the dragon back before he backed away. Then, he pulled his left fist back, chakra gathering around his fists.

Then, Kirito punched with his left arm, sending a chakra whip with the shape of a snake shooting towards the dragon, striking it straight in the face, causing it to stumble backwards again.

Then, Kirito/Kagachi bent his legs, sheathing his sword, and Suguha instantly knew what he was doing, while Sinon had an idea of what the man was doing.

The dragon growled as it regained its balance, glaring at the samurai lord with pure anger in its eyes. It charged, aiming a bite at the massive samurai's arm.

That was its final mistake.

With speed that normally wouldn't be possible for something that huge, Kagachi/Kirito drew his blade, right as the dragon's head was in front of him.

And with one swift swing, the head of the dragon fell to the ground, blood shooting out of the neck of the dead dragon like a fountain.

Kagachi/Kirito let out a breath, though it sounded like a deep grunt, before he turned and walked towards the girls, shrinking gradually until he returned to his normal size and appearance.

The man said as he reached them, "Let's go."

Suguha and Sinon nodded seriously before they followed Kirito to the gates. The man nodded to the two girls, who nodded back, then with one chantless wind spell, he blew the gates open.

Then they walked in, and saw a blonde man with green royal robes sitting on a throne, with Hikari and Asuna sitting beside him. But one look, and the three knew the two girls were waiting for a chance to leave.

Oberon smirked arrogantly as he stared down Kirito, "So, you finally made it, you mongrel."

Kirito, and the four girls, frowned hearing the blonde man acting so hostile. The swordsman asked, "What's your aim in all this? Why kidnap all those girls?"

Oberon rested his head on his right arm, leaning towards Asuna, "None of your business."

The blonde man stared down at the swordsman before he stood up, grabbing his sword, "But... Since you're here, I'll reduce you to ashes."

Oberon pulled out his sword, and in a blink of an eye, Asuna drew her rapier, while Hikari made a Chidori in her right arm, and the two girls thrust their weapon/attack at the man.

But to their surprise, Hikari's Chidori was stopped by a golden blade, while Asuna's stab was stopped by a golden scabbard.

As soon as they realized their attacks were stopped, the two girls leapt away to Kirito, Suguha and Sinon, Hikari dispelling her Chidori in the process, while Asuna gripped her rapier in a defensive grip.

Oberon frowned, "What are you two doing?"

Asuna and Hikari both stayed silent, staring at Oberon wearily. They knew it was Sugou, but they had no idea how he changed, and they didn't like it one bit.

The self proclaimed king, however, took it the other way, "I see, that mongrel brainwashed you, all four of you... No worries, I'll free you all soob enough."

Sinon frowned, "What are you talking about?"

Oberon didn't answer, but instead, snapped his fingers, forming four individual barriers around the four girls. The blonde king stared at Kirito, hostility evident in his eyes, "Now, I'll kill you, mongrel... And free those maidens from your grasps."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, already not liking the man, "I have no idea what you're talking about. You're the one who went around kidnapping girls, and now you took Asuna-chan and Hikari-chan. You'll pay for that, Sugou."

Oberon eyes darkened and he glared at Kirito, "YOU WILL ADDRESS ME... AS THE FAIRY KING, OBERON-SAMA, MONGREL!"

The self proclaimed king drew his golden blade and charged forward, using his wings to propel him towards Kirito.

The man clad in black narrowed his eyes and raised both of his blades, and clashed againts the Excalibur.

As the two repeatedly clashed blades, Kirito frowned. He had the upper hand when it came to pure skill, Oberon obviously had next to no skill with swordsplay.

He merely swung the blade as it was. But Oberon's sword evened that out with the power it had. Every time Kirito parried the sword, he had to be careful to strike the sword where its power wasn't focused at.

The Excalibur wasn't like any normal sword. It radiated power, as if it threatened to break any weapon it came in contact with. The man was sure, if his swords weren't as well made as they are, they'd shatter the moment the weapons touched the golden sword.

Kirito narrowed his eyes as they separated again. He could see Hikari, Suguha, Sinon and Asuna trying to blow the barrier apart.

He suspected there was a seal on them, since they weren't using the Bijuu's powers and their attacks weren't as strong as they were supposed to be.

The man refocused on Oberon as he jumped away to dodge a slash. Kirito muttered as he landed, "Trace... On."

Immediately, two short blade scimitars appeared and shot towards the blonde man. But before the projections could even reach Oberon, two rock pillars rose from the ground, blocking the swords, before retracting back into the ground as if nothing happened.

Kirito frowned, thinking what to do, before he heard Yui yell in his mind, "Papa, move!"

The swordsman's eyes widened as he leaped back just in time to dodge a rock spike from the ground.

Oberon frowned before he smirked, "Not bad, for a mongrel."

Kirito growled and glared at the blonde man, 'How the hell is he doing that?! I can't sense any changes to his chakra.'

Yui answered, frowning as she watched Oberon from the seal, "Papa, I can feel Aincrad's chakra in him. It makes sense now. I received one half, while he received the other. He could be using the seals Kayaba Akihiko placed in Aincrad."

Kirito frowned, 'Do you know what can he do with them?'

Yui nodded, "There were a lot of seals on Aincrad, some of them from back when Sora no Kuni was not destroyed. Most of them weren't even activated during the Aincrad incident. If he does have all of them, then he can do anything."

Kirito just narrowed his eyes, reminding himself to stay focused in case Oberon did something. He thought, 'Any idea how to beat him?'

Yui frowned before she answered, "Maybe your powers with your mark can help."

Kirito nodded, 'Better than anything. Thanks, Yui.'

The girl beamed, "Okay, Papa!"

The man focused on the blonde bastard in front of him, and he silently muttered, "Trace... On."

Instantly, four copies of the Tensenken appeared around him, while two copies of the Jisenken appeared behind Oberon, unknown to the blonde man, all of them in their Enhanced Armament conditions.

Kirito flexed his wrist, making the four copies of the Heaven Piercing sword shoot out beams of light at the man, at the same time, making the copies of the Time Piercing sword to silently slash all around Oberon.

Oberon frowned and jumped up, dodging the beams of light. But that was just what Kirito wanted.

As soon as the fairy king leaped back, he yelled in pain as he felt a dozen blades slashing his back, causing him to drop to the floor growling in pain.

Kirito let out a breath and was about to walk towards Oberon, when the swordsman felt a burst of chakra. And in an instant, all of Oberon's wounds vanished.

The self proclaimed king growled in anger, "YOU MONGREL!"

Kirito tch'd as he jumped away several times as Oberon sent rock spikes from the ground below him over and over again.

Then, the blonde king thrust his arm at Kirito, causing the area around Kirito to take on a blue shade, and the man instantly slowed down to the point that was almost not moving.

Kirito instantly knew what it was, seeing how fast Oberon suddenly became... Space-time seals that slowed down the time around the target.

The man quickly activated his Acceleration and dashed out of the time field, surprising Oberon before the self proclaimed king was forced to block a heavy strike from both of Kirito's swords, skidding back a few feet.

Oberon growled as he glared at Kirito, "How were you not affected?!"

Kirito sheathed both of his blades, "You're not the only one who can manipulate time and space."

Then, the swordsman raised his right arm, holding it with his left arm, " **I am the bone of my sword...** "

A large amount of chakra burst out from Kirito as he activated his mark, taking on the thick yellow aura. Oberon's eyes widened as he felt the sheer power Kirito radiated.

 **"Steel is my body and fire is my blood."** The ground trembled as Kirito spoke the next sentence, and the trembling increased for every sentence he spoke. **"I have created over a thousand blades."** **"Never defeated... Nor ever victorious."** **"Have withstood pain to create many weapons."** **"Yet this life holds no meaning to it."** **"So as I pray... UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!"** Kirito roared and pulled his arms down, pointing his arm at the ground, and shot a small ball of chakra into the ground.

In an instant, to the shock of Oberon, instead of his throne room, they were all in Kirito's reality marble.

The king glared at Kirito, "What is this sorcery?!"

A copy of Suguha's katana appeared in Kirito's hands as he said, "This is one of my strongest techniques, and the one that will defeat you."

In a burst of blue particles, Kirito reappeared behind Oberon, beside one of the swords stabbed in the ground behind Oberon.

Oberon roared in pain as Kirito slashed at his back with the katana. Not missing a beat, Kirito channeled a sword skill into the katana and yelled, "Hiogi!"

The swordsman swiftly landed three chakra enhanced slashes on Oberon's back, causing him to scream in pain.

Letting the copy of the Tempest drop, Kirito raised his arms as two blades flew into his arms, one was a huge cleaver-like blade while the other was a weird 6 part blade, with each part wider than the previous.

The swordsman raised the cleaver-like blade, charging with chakra before he swung it hard, roaring as he did. The swing unleashed a huge chakra wave that shot towards Oberon.

The fairy king cursed and raised hjs Excalibur, barely blocking it as he was pushed back for several feet.

But Kirito wasn't done. Tightening his grip over the other blade, he pulled back before he thrust the sword forward, hard, just as Oberon turned.

The blade extended, shooting towards Oberon, and struck the Excalibur hard, almost sending it flying out of Oberon's arms.

Kirito immediately charged forward, dispelling the two blades and grabbed two golden blades from the floor, shocking Oberon as he easily recognised one of the blades, a copy of the Excalibur, the other being the Fragant Olive Sword.

Oberon growled as he swung his sword at Kirito, who blocked with the same golden sword, "HOW DO YOU HAVE THAT SWORD?!"

Kirito smirked as he pushed back Oberon's Excalibur with his own Excalibur, "Who knows?"

Releasing a burst of chakra from his mark, Kirito pushed Oberon away, causing the blonde man to stumble backwards. Not willing to miss the chance, Kirito flipped the Fragant Olive Sword into reverse grip, holding it out horizontally and yelled, "ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"

The heavy blade instantly burst into hundreds of petals, swirling around Oberon as they left countless cuts on the self proclaimed king, causing him to wince in pain.

Then, Kirito yelled, "RELEASE RECOLLECTION!"

Immediately as soon as those words left his mouth, the petals multiplied, further increasing the damage on Oberon, as the man was now bleeding all over on his knees.

Kirito let out a breath, walking over to the man, drawing the Elucidator, "This ends... now."

Oberon growled, "If only you never existed..."

The swordsman sighed, "I've heard that many times, and you probably won't be the last."

Kirito raised his sword, prepared to end Oberon's life.

The self proclaimed king yelled, "IF ONLY YOU NEVER EXISTED!"

Kirito's eyes widened as the fairy king suddenly unleashed a huge amount of chakra from his Excalibur, and everything turned white.

Then, he felt a small shift in his chakra, but shrugged it off.

The light died down, and Kirito opened his eyes. The man blinked, "W-where am I?"

He looked around, confused. Instead of his reality marble, he was surrounded by trees, and Oberon and the girls were nowhere to be found.

Kirito thought, 'Yui, are you there?'

He received no reply.

Kirito clenched his fists. He was sure Oberon did something, but he didn't know what. All he remembered was the bright light, and a small shift in his chakra.

The man looked forward and started to move. For some weird reason, Kirito had a bad feeling about to events that were to come. And he didn't like it one bit.

XXX

Done. So that's chapter 56. Review please.


	57. Chapter 57

Hey... Sorry for the late update, I was sick, had a bacterial infection, almost got hospitalized and I couldn't work on my assessments, hell I couldn't move a muscle for a whole day, much less work on the chapter, so it was pushed further back.

Originally I was hoping to get this done in 2 weeks at most. But as I said, I got sick, still am actually, and it got pushed back to a month.

Now, I thank all of those who reviewed, thank you very much. It motivated me to try and work on this chapter. Yes, **The Hell Walker** , Gozu was, as you said, Yamcha'd.

To the **Guest** , don't worry, what Oberon done WILL be undone, one way or another, maybe we'll throw in some Infinity Stones to snap it away while we're at it. XD Just kidding.

To **Antex The Legendary Zoroark** , you'll find out here. Most of the answers you seek are here. I hate Oberon as much as the next person, but this is a way to build up for what comes next.

So yeah, keep up the reviews, I'll try my best to keep you all entertained. Hope you guys enjoy my story, and here's the new chapter.

XXX

After regathering his thoughts on what had happened, Kirito decided to head back to the fortress.

As he flew up into the air, Kirito's eyes widened as he saw giant tree, where he was sure was the ruins of Aincrad, or rather, Oberon's fortress.

(Yes, its the World Tree in ALO)

The man narrowed his eyes and continued his flight to the area.

Soon, he reached the tree, and he landed in front of the base of the tree, which was the exact same entrance/gates of the fortress.

That raised another question, where were the members of Team Gai? The swordsman silently cursed himself. In worrying for his family, he had failed to remember the fact that the members of Team Gai may had been caught in whatever Oberon did.

Kirito stared at the gates, before looking up at the huge tree in front of him, 'For now, I'll go in and see what's happening.'

He approached the gates and pushed. But they didn't budge. The man sighed. He should have expected it.

Previously, it was most likely because of Hikari and Asuna that the gates opened, and Oberon didn't like their presence, so he sent a squad of knights, which also opened the gates in the process.

But now, Kirito was the only one there, so Oberon wouldn't even need to bother with him.

Kirito tch'd and backed away from the gates. He then began to think. He remembered everything, right up to the moment he was about to kill Oberon.

But then the self proclaimed king did something. That was the one thing that he couldn't remember. And that was the problem.

Kirito narrowed his eyes, cursing himself again, 'It can't be helped. I'll go back to the village, Jiraiya or the Hokage may know something about this.'

The man turned, albeit frustratedly, and shot into the sky, flying back towards Konoha. Totally unaware of the fact that he was being watched by a pair of eyes filled with arrogance.

With Kirito, he landed in front of the gates of Konoha, and he was immediately greeted by Izumo and Kotetsu.

Izumo grinned, "Ah, Kirito! You're back!"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah. I'm the only one though."

Kotetsu blinked, slightly confused, "Hmm? But... you left on a solo mission, right?"

Kirito blinked in response, "Solo mission?"

Izumo nodded, referring to the registration book, "Yes, you left to investigate about a man kidnapping girls, right?"

Kirito smiled awkardly, "Erm, I went with the girls, with the members of Team Gai."

Izumo and Kotetsu shared a confused look, and Kotetsu spoke, "Team Gai? They just departed on another mission just now."

Izumo nodded, "Yeah. Are you okay, Kirito?"

The swordsman frowned slightly, "Are you sure? I'm sure I went with Asuna, Hikari, Suguha, Sinon, and the members of team Gai. I was leading that mission."

Kotetsu and Izumo looked at the registration book, and the latter shook his head, "No, it says you went on this solo. Besides, who are these girls you're talking about?"

Kirito gaped slightly, "You don't remember? Hikari, Uzumaki Hikari! The late Yondaime Hokage's daughter!"

Kotetsu looked at the man strangely, "Daughter? The Yondaime Hokage didn't have any children, Kirito. Did something happen in that mission?"

Kirito turned around, scratching the back of his head hard, 'What the fuck is happening?!'

Then Kirito remembered that Hikari was part of Kakashi's team, and he turned to the two eternal guards, "Where's Kakashi?"

Izumo blinked, "Kakashi? Erm, last I saw him he was at Agil's place."

Kirito nodded and turned to leave, "Thanks."

As the swordsman left hurriedly, Kotetsu commented, "Kirito seems troubled about something. What happened in that mission?"

Izumi shrugged, leaning back into his chair, "Who knows? But he'd better see a doctor before he goes insane."

Kotetsu nodded, placing his head on his arm on the table, "Yeah."

With Kirito, he reached Agil's cafe in no time, and as he entered, he saw Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura sitting at a table.

Kakashi noticed the swordsman and waved, "Hey, Kirito."

The man approached the table, "Kakashi-san."

Sakura stared confusedly at him, "-san? When did you stop calling him sensei, Kirito-san?"

Kirito was about to ask what she was talking about when Kakashi raised his hand, "Mah, mah, don't worry about it. I told you three to stop referring to me as your teacher after Kirito brought Sasuke back, right? Its fine."

The cyclops looked at the swordsman, "Besides, how did the mission go?"

Kirito nodded, "That's why I'm here. You seen the girls?"

Kakashi blinked confusedly, "The girls? Who're you talking about?"

Kirito blinked, a very bad picture forming in his mind. Regardless, he continued, "I'm talking about Hikari, Suguha, Asuna and Sinon! We went on that mission together, with Neji, Tenten and Lee. But for some reason, Kotetsu and Izumo believe I went on that mission solo."

Kakashi furrowed his brow, "I don't know who you're talking about. And you did go on the mission solo, Hokage-sama said it was better that way. And Gai and his team left on a courier mission just a while before you came in."

Sasuke nodded before he asked, "You okay, man? What happened on that mission?"

Sakura nodded, "You seem really out of it."

Kirito frowned slightly, but still replied, "It's nothing... I'll see you guys around."

Without another word, Kirito turned and left the cafe, heading for the Hokage's office. As he walked, he asked everyone the same things, about the girls, for any clues about what had happened.

All of them gave him the same answers. No one knew who Hikari, Suguha, Asuna or Sinon were. It was as if they never existed in the first place.

And a weird thing about it, was that when he asked about the massive tree where the ruins of Aincrad were. No one knew what was Aincrad, as if the Aincrad incident never happened.

Instead, the World Tree Yggdrasil, as they called it, had apparently existed for ages. Though no one knew how long, with rumors of a man, or rather, a Fairy King named Oberon, living on the massive tree.

Kirito frowned, clenching his fists. He had a rough idea for what happened, and he didn't like it at all. Clearing his mind, the man headed for the Hokage tower.

(linebreak)

Meanwhile, earlier after Kirito found himself in the forest, in the Oberon's fortress, now turned into the massive tree, more specifically, in the throne room, Oberon sat on his throne, exhausted, evident from his eye bags.

Asuna demanded, glaring at the blonde, "What did you do?! Where's Kirito-kun!"

Oberon let out a breath, looking at the four trapped girls tiredly, "I sent him away, now no one can interfere."

He smiled, "Or rather, no one will."

Hikari glared at him, a sentiment shared by the other three girls, as the last Namikaze asked, "What do you mean?"

Oberon leaned on his throne, "I erased memories about the four of you from the world. No one will interfere with our lives, not anymore."

Suguha narrowed her eyes, "What are you talking about?"

Oberon was about to answer when Sinon's eyes widened, and the archer said, "Seals... Aincrad was loaded with them, if he knew what to choose, then he could do anything..."

The girls' eyes widened as they started to put the pieces together, and they realized what had happened. It also explained why they couldn't contact their tenants.

Asuna glared at the self proclaimed king, "Kirito-kun won't forget about us. He'll definitely come for us, if we don't get out first."

Oberon huffed, "I doubt he'll remember."

Then the self-proclaimed king frowned, "But enough about that mongrel... You shall never speak of him ever again."

Hikari was about to retort when Oberon snapped his fingers, causing the girls to scream in pain as Oberon's slavery seals activated.

Oberon frowned as the girls slowly stood up, resisting the seals, and the man, for a short moment, saw the silhouettes of the bijuu behind the girls.

The self proclaimed king tch'd, "I see... So... Those foul beasts are resisting my control... No matter."

The blonde man snapped his fingers again, unknowingly placing a Hakke no Fuin (from afar) over the girls, further sealing away the bijuu.

(Now, I know Fuinjutsu doesn't work that way. But for Oberon, he absorbed the seals in Aincrad, giving him control over them, and he can exert those effects on the real world, though he just thinks its his own power and not the seals. Its like, the seals are on him, and they all exert an area of effect.)

Inside Hikari, and the three other girls, the bijuu all growled as they were further sealed away.

Kurama roared as he punched the extra cage that represented the extra seal, "Dammit!"

The nine tailed fox was furious. He could see everything that had happened outside, and he knew exactly what Oberon had done.

But because of the suppression seals Oberon used, along with the extra seal he was placing on them, Kurama could do nothing but watch at a side as his friend was being placed under a slavery seal.

The fox, and the other bijuu, growled as they felt the seals take hold, just as the girls' eyes all dulled.

The bijuu all cursed their luck. The girls were all strong on their own, coupled with the bijuu's help, they would be near unstoppable. But Oberon's powers originated from the one weakness all Jinchurikii had... Seals.

Outside the seals, Oberon let out a breath and smirked as the girls stopped resisting. He sat down on his throne and spoke aloud, "Well, I'm quite tired now..."

He glanced down at the girls and shook his head, "Mah, we'll just have our fun tomorrow. Go to your rooms and get some rest."

The girls wordlessly left the room and headed for several rooms Oberon had prepared in advance. The self proclaimed King then rested his head on his arm, closing his eyes as he went to sleep.

(linebreak)

Later, with Kirito, he was standing in the Hokage's office, with Tsunade and Jiraiya. From what he gathered, Kirito was the one who defeated Pein, recruited Nagato and Konan back to Konoha.

In fact, most of the girls' achievements were, from what he gathered, done by him. That made the man uneasy.

Now, Tsunade asked, "So, Kirito, how did it go?"

Kirito didn't answer the question, instead, he asked, "Hokage-sama, did something happen when I was on the mission?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "Hmm?"

The woman leaned back as Jiraiya spoke, "Well, there was a bright flash for a short moment. But nothing much happened."

Kirito tch'd, 'I figured as much... That bastard did something...'

He turned to Hikari's godparents, it wouldn't hurt to ask anyway, "Do you know where Hikari and the girls went?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "Girls? Who are you talking about?"

Kirito stayed silent for a moment before he shook his head, "No, its nothing."

The swordsman could see that they knew nothing about them. Asking them further would have only caused more problems.

Tsunade nodded before she asked, "So, your report?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah..."

He gave a short report about what happened, though he changed several things, about how the girls and the members of team Gai were involved.

After that, he left the office and headed to the Namikaze compound. Fortunately, the compound was as it was, and he could enter it.

The man quickly checked the girls' rooms, and to his relief, everything was it should be. The girls' belongings were all there.

Kirito sighed as he sat down on the sofa, 'What should I do now?'

The man thought about it, before he slowly drifted to sleep.

Then, the swordsman heard a familiar voice, "Papa!"

Kirito's eyes snapped open, the sight of his reality marble, or rather, his mindscape, in front of him. More importantly, Yui was standing in front of him.

The swordsman quickly snapped out of his stupor and asked, "Yui?!"

The girl beamed and embraced her 'father' tightly, "Papa! I was so worried, you know! I couldn't contact you, and I couldn't sense any of my Mamas!"

Kirito nodded before he asked, "Did you see what happened?"

Yui let go of him as her face turned serious, "Yes, I have assimilated most of the information from Aincrad, and I have an idea about what happened."

Kirito nodded for her to continue, and Yui said, "From what I saw, and what I know, Oberon absorbed the other half of Aincrad, more specifically the seals. I don't think he realises that, but he used the seals to alter reality."

Kirito frowned, "He can do that?"

Yui nodded, "As you know, Kayaba Akihiko had placed many seals on Aincrad. Combine every single one of them, considering there are many kinds of time space seals and suppression seals, it wouldn't be too hard to alter reality. And from what we saw, the only things he altered were everyone's memories of Asuna-mama, Hikari-mama, Suguha-mama and Sinon-mama. And he could have also reset Neji-san, Tenten-san and Lee-san's locations."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, "I see... That's bad..."

He then asked, "Are there any ways we can reverse that?"

The girl nodded, "Yes, there's only one way, and that's to kill him."

Kirito frowned as he considered how to do that, "Oberon, and most likely the girls, will be in that fortress..."

He looked at Yui, "Yui, any ideas how to get in there?"

The girl nodded, "Of course. Since I have assimilated almost everything from Aincrad, I can most probably override the commands and allow us entry."

Then she frowned, "Unfortunately, I don't think I can stop the guards."

Kirito nodded, "Its fine... I'll figure something out."

He thought a while before he said, "I'll ask Hokage-sama if I can get a squad to infiltrate the fortress, then we can find the girls."

Yui nodded before she warned, "But be careful, Papa, I don't think I can talk to you after you wake up. Something is stopping me, and Oberon may have altered some of their other memories."

Kirito nodded, "Got it."

The girl smiled, "Good, now get some rest, Papa. We'll talk the next time you get a nap."

Kirito blinked as what his 'daughter' said sunk in, and he started to protest when Yui snapped her fingers, and everything turned black.

As Kirito's manifestation in his mind vanished, Yui frowned as she sat down, conjuring up a small panel as she reviewed what had happened. The girl thought, 'I hope he hasn't gone that far...'

(linebreak)

The next morning, Kirito woke up with a groan. He grumbled as he remembered Yui forcing him to sleep last night, "Dammit..."

He let out a sigh as he sat up from his bed, "Whatever... Time to work."

Kirito quickly got dressed and headed for the Hokage's tower, with one purpose in his mind.

A short while later, Kirito was standing in front of Tsunade's desk, and the last Senju had a serious face, "So... You want a mission to scout out the World Tree, because you think there are four girls trapped up there?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah."

Tsunade let out a sigh, "I can't do that, Kirito. You should know that no one is allowed to go anywhere near Yggdrasil."

The swordsman suppressed the urge to frown, "Why not?"

The Hokage sighed again, "Kirito, I think you should go see a doctor. You've been acting strange ever since you came back from that mission."

Kirito stayed silent for a while, considering his options. If he pushed on, Tsunade might deem him unstable and probably keep him on watch, which was the last thing he needed. The swordsman nodded, "I see..."

Tsunade let out a breath and said, "Take the day off, Kirito. And don't do anything crazy."

The swordsman nodded and left the office.

As he walked, Kirito thought, 'That didn't go well... Shoulda seen that coming... Whatever, time for plan B then...'

And what was plan B?

Simple. Kirito would head for the fortress, or in this case, Yggdrasil, and get in by himself, find a way to get past that army of knights, and then find the girls, the five of them kick Oberon's ass, they leave, they win.

He couldn't take any risks asking others for help. Everyone had a similar response whenever he asked about Yggdrasil, and would probably respond similarly to how Tsunade did.

Kirito let out a breath as he checked his gear again. He had his swords, he had a small bag of chakra pills for emergencies, and he had a spare set of supplies sealed in his coat.

The man nodded and headed to stand behind a tree near the gates. After checking the area, with Kotetsu and Izumo, fortunately, sleeping on the job again, Kirito silently projected a dagger and threw it out of the gates before vanishing in a burst of blue particles.

(linebreak)

After a short while, Kirito appeared on a branch of a tree some distance away from Yggdrasil.

The man squatted down, staring at the massive doors in front of him. Kirito frowned before he opened his coat, staring at the seal that kept Yui in.

Supposedly, from what he remembered according to Hikari and Kurama, the seal was designed to let the 'content', in this case, Yui, enter and exit the seal as she liked, at the same time keeping a 'leash' on her so that she'd stay binded to the seal.

But now, Yui couldn't do that. The swordsman knew exactly why, an additional seal was acting upon it, most likely the world itself too.

The swordsman let out a breath and shifted his position so that he'd be sitting on the branch. Then, he took out a seal tag and swiftly drew a sleeping seal on it, coupled with a barrier seal and a small self-destruction seal set to activate in 15 minutes.

Looking at it for a brief moment, Kirito sighed, "This is ridiculous."

Then, he slapped the seal on his forehead and activated the seal.

As soon as the seal started glowing, Kirito's head instantly fell down, hanging as he was knocked out by the seal.

With Kirito's consciousness, he opened his eyes and found himself in his mindscape. The man looked around, taking in the sight of his mindscape, the exact same sight as his Reality Marble.

Kirito spoke, "Yui."

In an instant, the girl appeared in front of him, smiling, "Papa."

Kirito nodded with a soft smile, patting her head before his face turned serious, "Yui, I'm going in to the fortress, how are we going to open the doors?"

Yui nodded, "I can open it directly if I can connect myself to the doors, but right now my connection to you, and hence my connection to the outer world, is cut."

The man sighed, looking up, "So we need to fix that first..."

Yui nodded. Kirito turned, looking around his mindscape, "Yui, is there a manifestation of my seal and the suppression here?"

Yui frowned and looked around, "Hmm, I think there is one."

The girl closed her eyes and focused before she opened them and said, "Found them, Papa, but you'll need to make adjustments outside the seal."

The swordsman nodded, "So, where are they?"

Yui turned and pointed at five directions, "They are all at the end of the mindscape, but we won't need to go there."

Kirito raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

The girl smiled, "Take a look at your seal, Papa."

The man blinked and took off his shirt, revealing his seal on his chest, with five small parts of the seal glowing white. Kirito furrowed his brows, "Are these?"

Yui nodded, "Yes, they are the marks that are held down by the external seal Oberon made. Since the suppression seal isn't directly on your body, it needs to interact with our seal to suppress it."

Kirito nodded, "So if I loosen, as in modify the seal at these five parts, we can talk outside?"

Yui nodded, "Yes, but unfortunately I still won't be able to manifest outside."

Kirito nodded, "That's better that way, better not risk you getting caught too."

The girl pouted, "Mou, Papa! I'm not exactly weak! I have all the chakra from Aincrad after all and I've been practicing using it!"

Kirito chuckled full-heartedly and patted her head, "Yeah, but you'll still be you."

Yui just puffed her cheeks at her father before Kirito said, "Well, I suppose I should go. Talk to you later."

The girl stopped pouting and instead beamed at her father, "Got it!"

Kirito grinned and vanished from his mindscape, leaving Yui alone again. As soon as he left, a silhouette appeared before Yui.

The young girl frowned and looked at the silhouette, "Are you sure you don't want to reveal yourself to him?"

The silhouette shook their head and chuckled in a distorted voice, "Not yet. Besides, I'm not completely here anyways."

Yui let out a sigh and sat down below a tree before the silhouette asked, curiosity in their voice, "By the way, you have yet to tell him of the Underworld, why?"

The girl stared at the silhouette, "I don't like to keep secrets from Papa, but you did make it clear you wanted to tell him more when the time came, and I'd tell him if you run out of time."

The silhouette chuckled, "You know, for someone born less than a year ago, you're very mature."

Yui pouted, glaring at the silhouette cutely, "That's your fault, ya know?"

The silhouette laughed and nodded, "Yes, I suppose so. I gave you all the knowledge I had gathered after all. I suppose I'll leave for now. I'll see you next time I get to connect to the seal."

The silhouette vanished, leaving a frowning Yui sitting there before she closed her eyes, waiting for her father to loosen the seal.

(linebreak)

Outside the seal, Kirito opened his eyes and quickly took off his coat and shirt, revealing his seal. The man frowned as he unsealed his sealing supplies.

Kirito silently let out a breath and made a few strokes around the five parts of the seal, channeling chakra into them as he did.

After a short moment, Kirito put down his brush and made a single handed seal, and pushed in a small amount of chakra, "Fuin."

Instantly, the five extra strokes vanished, and the five spots on his seal lightened, signifying he had successfully loosened the seal.

Kirito let out a sigh and thought, 'Yui, you there?'

Immediately, the girl's bubbly voice sounded in his mind, "Yes, Papa! It worked!"

Kirito smiled and stood up, turning to the gates, 'Let's go. Better not keep your moms waiting.'

Yui nodded determinedly, "Got it!"

Kirito nodded and jumped down from the tree. Then, as he slowly walked forward, the man extended his senses, searching for any potential enemies.

Fortunately, he found none.

Soon, Kirito was standing in front of the gates again, 'Yui, how do we do this?'

Yui nodded and said, "Place your hands on the gates, Papa. I'll handle the rest."

Kirito nodded and did as he was told. And in a short moment, he felt some of Yui's chakra flow out of his arm into the gates, and they slowly moved open.

Kirito narrowed his eyes and drew his swords, 'I'm going in, Yui.'

The girl nodded, "Good luck, Papa."

The swordsman moved in and slowly walked through the gates, reaching a rather huge hall. He frowned, "It seems different than before."

Then he heard Yui's voice, "Papa! I sense my Mamas! They're directly above us!"

Kirito's eyes widened and his head snapped up towards the ceiling that was rather far up, with a design akin to a Pokeball.

The man spread his wings and was about to shoot straight up when a hundred knights appeared from the ceiling, quickly surrounding him.

Then an annoyingly familiar voice boomed through the area, "I gave you a chance to live a new life, yet you're still here, mongrel."

Kirito narrowed his eyes and drew his swords, "This is your fault in the first place, Oberon! No, Nobuyuki Sugou!"

Oberon's voice boomed through the area again, "SILENCE! For once again stepping into my castle, you will be executed!"

Kirito tch'd as the hundred knights all charged at him. If they were exactly the same as the ones they faced before Oberon did his magic trick, then he was gonna have a hard time. But he wasn't turning back, he couldn't.

The swordsman roared and projected 10 random swords around him and spread his wings, charging forward.

The ten swords instantly clashed against the knights, pushing a lot of them back as Kirito started hacking through the knights.

Kirito slashed down a knight with the Elucidator before blocking a sword fron another knight from his back. The man then willed one of the projected blades to cut down that knight before willing two swords to block attacks from behind.

Not missing a beat, Kirito turned and blasted the knights with a Tempesta spell, temporarily clearing off the knights from behind.

For a short moment, Kirito held his own against the knights, slowly moving his way up towards the ceiling.

But the knights started to pile up, and Kirito was pushed back down by the hoard of knights. Kirito cursed as he projected two copies of the Kubikiribocho and blocked attacks from the knights, 'At this rate, I won't have the strength to fight Sugou, and he'll most likely have the girls captured...'

Yui responded, worry in her voice, "Papa! I think you should retreat for now. We cannot get past these knights as you are, we should get help."

Kirito tch'd as he pushed several knights away again. He hated to admit it, but he had underestimated the amount of knights Sugou could send.

He had foolishly expected the man to send the same 20 knights at him. He was wrong, instead of just 20, Oberon sent 100.

Kirito growled and blasted another knight away with an Ignest fireball before he nodded, 'It can't be helped... Let's retreat, for now.'

Yui nodded in response as Kirito turned and raised both of his swords, facing the exit, and then he roared, "ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"

The Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor both glowed, a bright white aura engulfing the swords. Then, Kirito yelled, "RELEASE RECOLLECTION!"

Instantly, the energy around the two swords extended in a burst or energy, combining and forming a huge sword of light.

With a roar, Kirito swung the blades downwards, clearing off a path towards the exit, breaking off the doors at the same time. But, as expected, the knights all quickly sprang back up, and the door was quickly reparing itself.

The swordsman cursed as he shot downwards as the knights started closing in on him. The man thought, 'Please MAKE IT!'

In a short moment, Kirito shot out of the fortress right as the door fully repaired itself, closing off the knights away at the same time.

As Kirito shot out of the fortress, Oberon huffed as he dispelled the panel that oversaw the battle, "Whatever... I'll let him live... For now..."

He then got an idea and smirked evilly, "Or maybe not..."

He snapped his fingers, channeling his powers over the seals, sending yet another command to everyone that had been caught in the suppression seal he unknowingly placed over the world.

Back with Kirito, the man crashed into the ground, rolling over several times before he crashed into a tree, luckily not face first .

The swordsman groaned as he painfully got up from the tree, stretching his body as he did, "That went... Not so well..."

Yui nodded, "Yes... Papa, I think we should find allies. You can't charge in like that without suffering from major injuries, and you'd still have to fight Oberon."

Kirito sighed, "Unfortunately, that's the case..."

Yui smiled softly as she let her chakra flow through her father, slowly healing his injuries, "Well, we just need to try again."

The man sighed as he got up, "Yeah... Let's go back, regroup and figure out how to get past those knights."

Kirito turned and walked away. While it didn't seem that way, fighting that army of 100 knights had taken a toll on him.

Soon, the man reached Konoha's gates, and to his confusion, a huge army of Konoha ninja stood at the gate, as if waiting for war.

Then, before Kirito could reach 10 feet within the gates, Tsunade's voice boomed through the area, "Kirito. You have violated the rules and trespassed the grounds of Yggdrasil, unfortunately, the punishment for that is death."

Kirito blinked, "What?"

The Hokage let out a breath and said, "It is an agreement between the villages, that no one will step inside Yggdrasil, and for that, you will be exterminated."

The swordsman blinked, "E-exterminated?!"

The blonde nodded, "So, shall we do this the easy way, or the hard way, Kirito?"

Before he could answer, Yui spoke in his mind, "Papa! They're under the effect Oberon's seals, look at their eyes!"

Kirito's eyes widened, and he saw it. In everyone's eyes standing at the gates, there was an odd green glow. He understood immediately, most likely due to his attempt at getting into Yggdrasil, Oberon had used his seals to order his death.

Kirito cursed, and without another word, he turned and ran.

As the man started sprinting away, Tsunade snapped her fingers, and instantly all the Jounin around her sprang into action, chasing after Kirito.

As the man ran, he extended his wings and started to take flight when he found that he couldn't move. Kirito's eyes widened as he was forced to turn around, then he noticed it, his shadow was connected to Shikamaru.

The Nara heir sighed lazily, "That's as far as you go, Kirito."

Then, Neji landed in front of him, in a very familiar stance, "Don't take this personally, Kirito. Hakke Rokujuu Yon Sho!"

But before the Hyuga could start, Kirito gritted his teeth, "Trace... On!"

Immediately, a copy of the Kubikiribocho stabbed itself in front of him, forcing Neji to jump away. Not missing a beat, Kirito projected several more swords and shot them towards the Konoha ninja, specifically aiming at Shikamaru.

That forced the Nara to release his hold over Kirito, allowing the swordsman to leap away. But as soon as he landed, Kirito grabbed the copy of the Kubikiribocho just in time to block a slash from a very familiar chokuto.

Kirito growled, "Sasuke! Snap out of it!"

The Uchiha's Sharingan spun as he stared at Kirito blankly, "Just give up, Kirito. We'll make it painless for you."

The swordsman tch'd as he spun and kicked the Uchiha away before he jumped away to avoid an earth shattering punch from Sakura.

The swordsman cursed as he willed his projected swords to keep everyone busy away from him in a 5 meter radius, which was barely working as he had to either kick or punch everyone who came at him away.

Then he caught a glimpse of an opening, and Kirito gritted his teeth, "Ek fleygja þrír geirr muspilli!"

Immediately, three flame spears shot at the direction of the opening, causing the Jounin in that direction to jump out of the way, giving Kirito the chance to rush away using his Acceleration.

After a short while of flying through the forests, Kirito landed on the ground roughly as he panted, "What the fuck was that?!"

His answer came in the form of Yui's voice in his mind, "Language, Papa!"

Kirito winced slightly from the girl yelling in his mind before he muttered, "Sorry..."

Yui sighed as she started, "It seems Oberon's seals had a far worse effect than I thought. The world is basically under his control, using the seals. Though I don't believe he has total control, he's probably only able to influence their thoughts and nudge them to act as he wants."

Kirito frowned as he leaned against a tree, 'That's not good... And the only way to undo this is to kill him...'

Yui nodded, "Yes, Pa-JUMP!"

The girl's sudden yell caused the man to leap straight up onto a branch just in time to dodge several kunai that embedded themselves into the tree trunk.

Kirito cursed as he looked down to see Jiraiya and Kakashi standing some distance away from the tree he was on.

The toad Sage spoke, "That's enough, Kirito."

The swordsman tch'd as he noticed the green glow in their eyes, "So they're the same... I guess talking wouldn't help much..."

Kakashi spoke, "Come with us willingly, maybe we can negotiate with Hokage-sama, and you won't need to be executed."

Kirito closed his eyes before he opened them again, staring at the two men, "Sorry, but that's out of question. I still need to save the girls."

Jiraiya sighed, "I guess you forced our hand then."

Kirito's eyes narrowed as several Anbu appeared, surrounding him. His eyes then widened as he suddenly found himself unable to move, glancing around only to find his shadow linked to one of the Anbu, obviously a Nara.

But before he could project a sword to disrupt the jutsu, Kakashi appeared in front of him, his Sharingan having an odd green glow, "Sorry, Kirito, goodbye."

The Copy Ninja thrust his hand forward, but before he could touch Kirito, a familiar voice rang through the area, "Basho Ten'in!"

Immediately, Kirito felt himself pulled off the tree branch and yelped as he suddenly landed on a rather soft object. Then he realised he was sitting on a bird summon.

The swordsman blinked as he looked around to see Nagato, Konan, Itachi and Yugao. Kirito blinked, "Nagato? Itachi? Konan? Yugao-san? You guys..."

The Rinnegan user frowned as he quickly willed his summon to dodge several elemental ninjutsu, "Talk later, we gotta go."

The Uzumaki glanced at Itachi and Konan, "Itachi, Konan."

The two nodded and looked down at the squad of Konoha ninja, the Uchiha announced, "Katon: Goryuka no Jutsu!"

Konan yelled, "Kami Shigure!"

Instantly, a massive stream of fire, accompanied by a volley of paper kunai rained down upon the squad, setting the trees on fire and injuring most of them lightly before Nagato willed his summon to fly away.

As they flew away, Kirito said, "You all seem normal."

Yugao nodded, "Yeah, Itachi and Nagato managed to force us out of it using Genjutsu and seals."

Nagato nodded, his eyes forward, "A short while ago, we felt something try to grab hold on us, it was very subtle, but it was there. You wouldn't know it if you don't have a strong Kekkei Genkai that is related to the mind. Transplated Doujutsu obviously don't count. "

Itachi nodded, "And Sasuke and the Hyugas are not strong enough, Konan-san and Yugao-san were the same, but I managed to hold them with my Genjutsu, and Nagato managed to use his seals to clear it off."

Kirito frowned, "But Tsunade and Jiraiya were also affected..."

Nagato nodded, "I know. But I'm not surprised, the seal is strong, I doubt even the Yamanaka clan could feel it. It was only because of my Rinnegan and Itachi's Sharingan coupled with his skill in Genjutsu that we managed to escape it."

Konan nodded, "The others may have felt it, but they wouldn't be able to resist it."

Yugao then asked, "Do you know anything about this, Kirito?"

The swordsman nodded, "Yeah, but we better find a place to rest first, its a long story."

Nagato nodded, "Of course, and I know just the place."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "That is?"

Nagato grinned, "Uzushio."

XXX

Done. So that's the latest chapter. Now I know some, if not a lot, of you might not like where this is going. Just bear with me.

So for now, the girls are under Oberon's slavery seals, and the Bijuu are suppressed. For now, the only ones available are Itachi, Kirito, Nagato, Konan and Yugao.

Just so I make it clear, Tobi is still on the loose. He won't make an appearance any time soon, only until after this arc and somewhere around the Underworld arc.

I won't call it the Alicization arc, cuz Alice won't play as big as a role here. She'll play a rather big role, just not as big as compared in canon.

So yeah, I'll try to make updates as frequent as possible. Until next time.

Review please.


	58. Chapter 58

Hey, so here's the 58th chapter. This will be the final chapter for the Oberon arc, and its also the longest chapter to date, at 8800 words .

So, now, I was hoping for more reviews about the previous chapter, but from what I got, it was surprisingly well received. I was pretty sure you'd all hate it, maybe...

So, I know it probably won't mean much to all of you, but thank you, it really means a lot to me.

So, without further ado, let's start.

XXX

With Kirito, Nagato, Itachi, Konan and Yugao, they flew across the lands, heading for Uzushiogakure.

As they flew, Kirito sat on the bird summon, staring down at the forests, occasionally seeing a village as they passed by.

The swordsman frowned as he thought back about what had happened, and he worried what would happen to the girls in his absence.

Yugao seemed to notice this, and patted his shoulder, "Worried about them, Kirito?"

The swordsman glanced up at the woman, before he looked back down, nodding, "Yeah... We got careless, I shouldn't have let them go in alone."

The swordswoman let out a sigh, "What's done is done, Kirito. What's important now, is that we get them back. But now you need rest."

Kirito sighed before he chuckled humourlessly, "I suppose you're right. I'm exhausted."

The swordsman continued to have small talk with Yugao, the woman having sat down beside him.

As the two swordsmen talked, Itachi, Nagato and Konan were having a conversation of their own.

Itachi spoke as he looked forward, "Nagato, what do you think about what happened?"

The last male Uzumaki raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

The Uchiha replied, "This isn't normal, not even by our standards. The one responsible for this would be a god, far more than you'll ever be, no offense."

Nagato nodded, "None taken. But you're not wrong. Mind control on this level, plus not in the sense of Genjutsu or possession, is not possible. This person, if its a person we're talking about, is doing more than just nudging their thoughts."

Konan asked, rather confused, "What do you mean?"

Itachi let out a breath, "The Konoha ninja, the villagers we met, and your actions, they weren't like mindless control. It was as if someone made you do it, but you're still maintaining ypur personality. Its like how a person would be if he's brainwashed, or under a Genjustu."

Nagato nodded, "If what happened to them is the same as what happened to us, then there is no way that its Genjutsu, and there is no way that'd anyone can brainwash everyone in such a short amount of time."

Konan nodded in understanding, "So, either this person is a god, or he has seals that can affect the whole world."

Nagato and Itachi both nodded, the former said, "Yes, and we need to find a way to stop him."

Itachi closed his eyes, "Of course, but, we still need to understand the situation before we act. If Tobi is involved in this..."

The Uchiha trailed off, but the two former leaders of the Akatsuki knew what he was talking about.

Since Nagato had his Rinnegan formed from a transplanted Sharingan, and considering it wasn't originally, he had lost access to some of his abilities with the Rinnegan, and summoning the Gedo Mazo was one of them.

And strangely, after Nagato and Konan, along with Itachi, had joined Konoha, they couldn't find the Gedo Mazo. That was one of the reasons the three of them, along with Yugao, had left on that mission.

So they assumed the worst, which was Tobi taking the Gedo Mazo, which meant that they couldn't retrieve Shukaku or the other Bijuu.

Back to the present, the two former Akatsuki members nodded before the continued flying in silence.

(linebreak)

After a short while, the five finally reached the ruins of Uzushiogakure and quickly went into the still well maintained Uzukage tower.

As the five entered the office, Ashina's hologram appeared, surprising Konan and Itachi, even if the latter didn't show it. The ancestor of the Uzumaki clan had a grim expression on his face, "I see you're all here."

Nagato nodded, "Yes, Uzumaki Ashina."

The old Uzumaki smiled, "Uzumaki Nagato, finally, I meet you. But I hoped it would under different circumstances."

Konan asked, stepping forward, "So you know what happened?"

The hologram nodded, "I have my suspicions, considering it's one of the seals we invented."

Yugao asked, "So, can you tell us?"

Ashina nodded, and he stared at Kirito, "Before that, Kirito, tell us what happened, on your part, I sense you have something to do with this."

The swordsman nodded as everyone's attention turned to him, "A while ago, the girls, Hikari-chan, Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan, and I went on a mission to escort the son of one of the major companies supporting our village."

Kirito closed his eyes and continued, "That client is called Nobuyuki Sugou. Basically, he's an ass. He sees women as objects, and does whatever he wants to them. Unfortunately, Hikari-chan and Asuna-chan caught his attention."

The swordsman let out a breath, "Of course, the girls didn't let anything happen, and we finished the mission without any problems."

Kirito paused a while before continuing, "But a few days ago, Sugou's father was announced dead, and Sugou went missing. Then, girls with blonde hair and light brown hair were kidnapped near the ruins of Aincrad."

Yugao narrowed her eyes, "Blonde and light brown hair? Isn't that like Hikari and Asuna?"

The swordsman nodded, "Yes. So Hokage-sama sent us and the members of Team Gai, without Gai-san of course, to investigate it. And at one of the villages near Aincrad, we had Asuna-chan and Hikari-chan be bait."

The man clenched his fists, "I shouldn't have let them do it... But they were brought to the ruins of Aincrad, where a fortress stood."

The swordsman let out a breath as Itachi placed his hand on his shoulder, telling him to calm down, "We followed them, and Asuna-chan and Hikari-chan were captured and brought into the fortress. We managed to open the gates, and I managed to break through the fortress to where the girls were, with Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan."

Kirito gritted his teeth in frustration before he let out a breath, calming himself as he felt Yui's chakra flow through his body, "But we got careless. The one behind all that was Sugou, or as he called himself, the Fairy King Oberon. He managed to restrain the girls, so I had to fight him alone."

The swordsman closed his eyes again, "I almost killed him, but before I could, he did something using the seals he had. That brought us here."

Ashina nodded in understanding, "I see... I know what happened then."

Everyone looked at the old man curiously before he started, "Now, from what I remember, and what I felt, this... Oberon, unleashed an area of effect seal, or rather, seals. Among them are slavery seals, mind control seals, amplifier seals, transformation seals, time space seals and suppression seals."

Ashina let out a sigh, "Using that particular combination, he can suppress the rules of the world, if you will, and mold it to his liking. Of course, he cannot change the world too much, as it would damage space and time."

Nagato frowned, "So, how do we stop it?"

Ashina closed his eyes, "From what I understand, this Oberon absorbed the seals of Aincrad. So, we can only stop everything and return everything to normal by killing him, the source."

Kirito frowned, "But he has an army of immortal knights, we can't get past that."

Itachi shook his head, "No, you can't on your own."

Nagato smirked slightly, "But, with a kenjutsu expert, a weapons expert, a Rinnegan user and a Sharingan user, our chances are quite good."

Ashina chuckled, "Perhaps, compared to just Kirito, your odds are better, of course."

Kirito just sighed with a smile, unable to refute that statement. The swordsman then closed his eyes before he said, "But, I'm more worried about what Oberon would do to the girls..."

Yugao nodded, "It'll be fine, we'll move as soon as we're ready."

Ashina nodded, "I see. Considering its almost sundown, I suggest you all rest for the night, then move tomorrow at dawn."

The five of them nodded before Ashina spoke again, "Kirito, I'd like to speak with you in private."

The swordsman nodded before Ashina turned to look at the others, "There's an inn just a short distance down the street, it should still be well maintained with water and electricity, the four of you can go rest up there."

Yugao and Konan both looked a bit uncertain, but Itachi and Nagato both just nodded and left the office, and the two women followed them, but not before giving Kirito a worried glance, or at least, Yugao did, Konan just gave him a nod before she left.

As the four elder ninjas left, Itachi said, "Nagato, I find it weird, why wasn't Kirito affected by the seals?"

The Uzumaki stopped walking, "I've been thinking about it, but nothing makes sense. In a way, Kirito is a Jinchurikii as well, but as far as we know, the only Jinchurikii we've met is Fuu, and she was also affected by the seals."

Yugao frowned, "But what about the girls?"

Konan shook her head, "We haven't seen them yet, so we don't know if they are affected or not..."

Itachi then said, "The only Jinchurikii out there is Killer Bee, but we don't know if he's fine."

Nagato closed his eyes before he said, "Considering we, as in Itachi and I, were strong enough to resist the seal, I wouldn't put past it to say that Jinchurikii can resist it too. Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon, we don't know what happened to them yet, and Fuu probably only had one half of the Nanabi with her, so her Bijuu might not be strong enough. "

Itachi nodded, "If its a full powered Bijuu, then it might be different."

Konan then asked, "So, what do we do? Even with the five of us, I doubt we can make our way up safely."

Nagato opened his eyes, "We'll send a message to Kumogakure, specifically to Bee, and if he's fine, we might get reinforcements."

Itachi nodded as they got to work.

(linebreak)

Back in the office, Ashina started, "Kirito, do you know how space time seals work?"

Kirito blinked, "Ermm, sorry, I don't follow..."

The Uzumaki nodded, "What I meant, is do you know how seals are able to affect time and space?"

Kirito oh'd before he frowned and shook his head, "Sorry, I don't. I know it can, but I don't know the how."

Ashina nodded, obviously expecting this, "Of course. This is something we didn't include in the ten volumes of our sealing techniques, after all."

The astral form of the Uzumaki let out a sigh before he continued, "Many decades ago, we discovered that we could alter time and space through seals. Seals, as you know, are formulations forged with chakra conducted through ink."

He snapped his fingers, activating the projector seals and formed a hologram of a grid above the desk, "If we arrange the formulations, or in our case, the seals, correctly, we could do whatever we desired, provided, we have the amount of chakra and stamina to do it."

Ashina continued, "Time and space are no different. I'm sure you know, if you draw seals in a specific pattern, it affects time and space, but how?"

Kirito narrowed his eyes as Ashina snapped his fingers, causing a circular object to appear on the grid, weighing it down, causing it to bend.

The ancestor of the Uzumaki clan smiled proudly, "Imagine time and space as a fabric in the world, one that we cannot see, touch, or hear, but we can feel its effects. The seals act as an anchor, or a weight, to push on that fabric, and depending on how you do it, it can affect reality."

Kirito frowned, "So Oberon..."

Ashina nodded, "Yes, combined with all kinds of seals, using the space time seals as the center, he can alter the world as he so pleases, though from what you told me, I doubt he knows it."

The swordsman looked at the hologram and asked, "Is there any way we can stop that?"

The Uzumaki grinned, "That's why I told you to stay, I have a seal that can revert the world to its original state."

The old seal master then frowned, "Unfortunately, all Oberon needs to do is reactivate his seals, and everything will be back to how he wants it to be."

Regardless, Ashina snapped his fingers, and a seal appeared in the place of the grid, "This is the seal. Its one of the ones I invented, to undo the changes done by space time seals, or any other seal, and revert the world to its original state."

Kirito nodded, "I see, thank you very much, Ashina-sama."

The Uzumaki grinned as he grabbed a seal tag and printed the seal on it using chakra and ink, "No worries, boy, now go get some rest. You have a lot to do tomorrow."

Kirito nodded and took the tag, "Thank you, I'll be going then."

Ashina nodded as the young man left the office, leaving the dead soul to his own thoughts, 'Good luck, young man, save my great-granddaughter.'

Later that night, Kirito sat on the bed in his room at the inn. Yui spoke, concern in her voice, "Papa, are you okay?"

Kirito sighed and thought, 'How can I be okay? Its because I made the wrong choice that we ended up like this.'

Yui smiled and Kirito felt like someone patted his head. The girl said, "Its not your fault, Papa. No one knew that Sugou would get the other half of Aincrad's powers."

Kirito frowned, 'But I still sent them to act as bait... What kind of man does that?'

Yui frowned, "Papa, stop blaming yourself. My Mamas are strong, it just so happened that we were caught off guard. Now stop being depressed and man up! You're saving them tomorrow's, right?"

Kirito blinked several times as Yui's words sunk in. The man shook his head and chuckled, 'Yeah, I guess you're right. Thank you, Yui.'

The girl just beamed as Kirito slipped into the bed and slept.

(linebreak)

Meanwhile, in Oberon's throne room. The blonde man had managed to recover some of his energy, and he was rather eager in getting a feel of his new girls.

The blonde king stared at Hikari, whose eyes were blank, in a perverse manner, "Come here, Ciela."

Hikari blankly walked to the throne before Oberon brought her into his arms. The man caressed her skin softly, smiling perversely, "I think I'll have some fun, no?"

The man started to snake his hands towards Hikari's clothes, but before he could touch her, the man felt a wave of weakness all over his body and fell back on his throne, allowing Hikari to stand up as a slave would do.

The self proclaimed King cursed, 'So I've still not fully recovered yet...'

He let out a tired breath and glanced at Hikari and the other girls, "Go back to your rooms, I need some rest."

The girls just followed his orders and left the throne room, leaving Oberon to his own thoughts as the man rested his head on his arm, drifting to sleep again.

Unknown to the blonde king, a silhouette was watching him in the shadows, and the silhoutte thought, 'I made it in time, fortunately. Can't have that happen to them, Kirito'd kill me if he knew I let that happen. Thank the gods for my limited control over his powers.'

The silhoutte let out a sigh and vanished, but still keeping an eye on the now asleep blonde man.

(linebreak)

The next morning, outside the hotel, Kirito was all suited up, along with everyone else.

Itachi and Yugao were in their Anbu armors while Nagato and Konan both wore red cloaks similar to their Akatsuki robes.

As they approached the gates, Ashina appeared in front of them, and the five gave him nods of respect.

The astral form of the Uzumaki nodded, "I'm sorry that I cannot do more for you, but we don't have the time."

Kirito nodded as he looked at the seal in his hands, "Its fine, we'll deal with the rest."

Ashina nodded as he looked at the others, particularly Nagato, "Nagato."

The Rinnegan user nodded back as the astral form of his ancestor said, "It was nice, to see a son of our clan return to our lands."

The former leader of the Akatsuki nodded, "Yes sir, I apologise for not coming sooner."

Ashina chuckled, "It's fine."

His face turned serious, "I entrust the future of our clan to you. Hopefully, you rebuild it, but the choice is yours."

Ashina glanced at Konan briefly as he said that, earning a barely noticeable blush from the blue haired woman, while Nagato just nodded.

The Uzumaki ancestor then gave nods of acknowledgement to the other two former Anbu before he said, "Now, you should get going. Good luck."

Kirito nodded, along with everyone else, before they turned. Nagato bit his thumb and flashed through a set of seals before slamming his palm onto the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

In a huge cloud of smoke, a huge bird appeared and everyone jumped onto the bird as it started to take flight.

As the summon flew away, Kirito turned and glanced back at Uzushiogakure. The man nodded at the figure of Ashina, who nodded back, before the astral form vanished.

The swordsman then turned to the front, a determined look on his face, 'Just you wait, Oberon. I'll take back everything, and you'll pay.'

(linebreak)

In about half an hour, thanks to Nagato's summon, the five were standing on the branches of the trees that surrounded Yggdrasil.

As they five stared at the tree/fortress, Konan asked, "So, how are we getting in?"

Kirito crouched down, holding the branch to keep himself steady, "Yui can get us in, all I need to is to touch the doors."

Itachi nodded, "Then the knights you told us about will appear, right?"

Kirito nodded, "If Oberon is confident, yes. But the question is how many of them..."

Yugao stared at the doors, "So, how are we doing this?"

Nagato grinned, "Simple. We get in, the four of us hold back the knights, and Kirito goes up and find the girls. They kick Oberon's ass, they leave, we win."

Konan sighed, "If only it were that simple..."

The swordsman nodded, "Yeah, but unfortunately, that's the only way we can do this. And I doubt we can destroy it."

Itachi glanced at Nagato and the Uzumaki shook his head. They had sent a letter to Killer Bee by a messenger hawk, but unfortunately, they had not received a reply yet.

The Uchiha just nodded in response before he said, "It can't be helped, we'll just have to do it."

Kirito stood up, "Yeah, let's go."

The four nodded and followed Kirito down to the ground, walking towards the doors.

As expected, they managed to reach the door without any problems. Kirito thought, 'Yui, are you there?'

The girl's voice sounded in his mind, "Yes, Papa!"

The man thought, 'We're going in, are you ready?'

Yui nodded, "Of course! Let's do this!"

Kirito nodded and placed his palm on the doors. In a brief moment, he felt Yui's chakra flow through his arm, and the doors slowly opened.

Kirito lowered his arm and took a step forward, "Let's go."

The four elder ninja nodded and followed the swordsman into the fortress, reaching the same massive hall.

Yugao asked, "So, what now?"

None of the Konoha ninja needed to answer. Instead, Oberon's voice boomed through the area, "You're back, I see... Still haven't had enough? Though I see you've brought some friends, I commend you for accomplishing that."

Kirito narrowed his eyes as the 100 knights surrounded them. But instead of stopping at 100, the number of the knights increased until they filled the hall.

Nagato and Itachi instantly activated their doujutsu, and Kirito and Yugao drew their blades while Konan summoned a swirl of paper around her.

Nagato said, "We'll clear a path, Kirito, charge on ahead."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, thanks..."

Yugao gripped her Katana and said, "Let's go."

Immediately, the five sprung into action. Itachi and Nagato both immediately fired two streams of fire at the knights, burning them to crisps.

At the same time, Konan mixed her papers with explosive tags and sent them at the mob of knights in front of her, destroying a huge number of them.

Meanwhile, Kirito and Yugao were both slashing down the knights as hard as they could, occasionally firing a jutsu or spell at them.

But after a short while, the five of them found themselves at the same level even after cutting/striking down all those knights.

Kirito tch'd as he raised his swords, "ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"

Immediately, the Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor were shrouded in a light blue aura that extended down the blade.

Kirito then swung his swords, the aura on both swords extending as he did, cutting down the knights before he projected several random swords that stabbed into three knights behind him.

The swordsman cursed and glanced at the others, "At this rate, we won't even reach halfway up! What do we do?!"

Nagato kicked several knights away in succession before he glanced up, "I'll try to clear a path, Itachi, Kirito, help me with this."

The two men nodded, a bit confused, but they understood as soon as Nagato activated his Rinnegan, "SHINRA TENSEI!"

Instantly, the knights around him were blasted away, thinning their ranks, especially above. Not missing their chance, Kirito and Itachi unleashed their attacks, "TEMPESTA/AMATERATSU!"

From Kirito's arms, a huge vortex shot at the ceiling, empowered by Itachi's Amateratsu. The black flaming vortex burned away the knights, clearing a path towards the ceiling.

Not missing a beat, Kirito's wings extended and the man shot upwards. As the man launched himself at the ceiling, he thought, 'PLEASE MAKE IT!'

But unfortunately, as he almost reached the ceiling, the knights immediately poured out of nowhere, pushing him down in no time.

Kirito cursed, growling as he desperately kicked and slashed away every knight that came in his way. But the knights just piled onto him, pushing him down.

Yugao yelled in concern, "Kirito!"

But before the woman could do anything, she was once again locked in battle against the knights around her. Nagato and Konan were both busy enough with the knights around them, and Itachi couldn't get rid of the knights on Kirito without hurting him.

Then, right when Kirito and the knights reached halfway down, a man's voice boomed through the area, "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

In the blink of an eye, a blurr struck Kirito and the knights, knocking them away like bowling pins.

The blur landed on the ground, revealing a rather muscular man, and on his shoulder was Kirito holding his swords.

The black swordsman blinked as he recognised the back of the man holding him, "You're! Killer Bee?!"

The Jinchurikii of the Hachibi smirked, "Yo, Kuro no Kenshi-san."

Kirito blinked, "Why are you here? How are you here?!"

Bee smirked and let Kirito down, looking at the knights around them as he answered, Kirito quickly took a stance at the same time, "I got a message from Nagato there. Explained why everyone seemed so weird, so here I am."

The dual swordsman easily noticed how Bee wasn't rapping, so it meant the Jinchurikii was pissed. Kirito nodded, "I see."

Bee drew a sword and said, "You know how to undo all of this, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah."

The Jinchurikii nodded, "Good. We'll help, so just get your ass up there."

Kirito blinked, "We?"

Bee nodded, and on cue, a loud voice rang through the area, "LARIAT!"

A light blue and dark blur passed right in front of Kirito, clearing up a number of knights before the man stopped in front of him.

Kirito gaped, "The Raikage?!"

Ay hmph'd as he flexed his arm, glaring at Bee, "What did I tell you about rushing in, Bee?!"

The Jinchurikii grinned, "Whatever bro."

The Raikage sighed as he punched a knight away that came from the back before looking at Kirito, "Hey brat, with what happened to the world, we had to leave my village open, so you better succeed with this."

Bee grinned and kicked a knight away, "I managed to undo the seal on big bro thanks to octopops, but we couldn't undo it on everyone."

Kirito nodded with a determined face, "You bet it."

Ay nodded as the two Kumo ninja faced the knights, "Now get to it. We'll hold them back, and Bee will fire a Bijuudama up the ceiling to clear a path."

The Raikage then yelled, "NAGATO, ITACHI! YOU TWO HELP TOO!"

His response came in the form of two blasts of chakra, "SHINRA TENSEI/SUSANO'O!"

Instantly, the knights were blasted away, revealing Nagato and Itachi, the latter in his Susano'o. Both doujutsu users nodded at Ay.

Bee smirked and instantly transformed into Gyuki's full bijuu mode. Ay nodded and looked at Kirito, "Get ready brat."

The swordsman nodded and spread his wings, unleashing a burst of chakra as he activated his mark and the Acceleration.

Bee and Gyuki both roared in unison as the ball of compressed chakra formed in front of their jaw, "BIJUUDAMA!"

The ball of chakra sailed through the area, clearing off the knights in the air, but didn't damage the ceiling. Not wasting his chance, Kirito shot upwards.

Then, the knights immediately started to pile up. But unlike previously, Itachi, Nagato, Konan and Yugao were ready.

The Uchiha willed his Susano'o to raise his arm, several beads spinning above its hand, "Yasaka no Magatama!"

Nagato formed a huge chakra cannon on his chest, charging up chakra, aimed at the ceiling. Konan conjured up a wave of explosive tags and aimed them at the ceiling, while Yugao went through a set of seals, "Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

The four attacks blasted up at the ceiling, and Kirito spun slightly, avoiding the attacks as they cleared a path once again.

As soon as the knights were gone, Kirito charged at the ceiling, reaching it as he stopped right before he slammed against it.

Kirito thought, 'Yui!'

The girl nodded, "YES, Papa!"

Instantly, Kirito felt his daughter's chakra flow through his arm, and the ceiling started to glow.

The swordsman then turned down, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a scroll, "Before I forget, BEE!"

The Jinchurikii blinked, looking up as Kirito threw the scroll at him, "A gift as thanks!"

The Jinchurikii, having shrunk down to human size, blinked as he caught the scroll easily. The rapper turned the scroll, revealing one word on the scroll, 'SAMEHADA'.

The Jinchurikii looked up, but Kirito was already gone. Bee smirked, unrolling the scroll, "Well I'll be. Thanks for the gift, Kuro no Kenshi-san."

The man sheathed his swords, and channelled his chakra through the scroll, earning a huge puff of smoke, confusing Ay and the others.

But their confusion was cleared along the smoke, revealing Killer Bee wielding a rather huge and familiar sword, especially to Itachi.

Standing there, was Killer Bee holding the Samehada, "This oughta be fun."

Without another word, the Jinchurikii charged, swinging his new sword.

(linebreak)

With Kirito, the man opened his eyes, revealing himself standing in a corridor, and at the end of the long path, was a huge set of doors.

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he heard Yui's voice, "Papa, Mamas' chakra signatures are in there."

Kirito nodded, "Got it."

Kirito started to walk towards the gates before Yui said again, "Wait, Papa! It's weird, I can't sense the Bijuu's chakra... No, wait, its there, but they seemed... suppressed."

Kirito narrowed his eyes at the gates, 'So it means they are captured somehow... Right?'

Yui nodded, "Yes, please be careful."

The swordsman nodded and approached the doors, then with a strong push, the gates flew open.

Kirito immediately rushed in, swords drawn, "Oberon!"

The self proclaimed king smirked as he stood up from his throne, "Mongrel, so you're here."

Kirito's eyes widened as he noticed the figures around Oberon, four girls he easily recognised, and he easily noticed the odd green glow in their eyes.

But there was one difference, Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and Hikari all had a weird yellow glow in their pupils, surrounded by the green glow of their eyes. More importantly, he couldn't sense their chakra or their Bijuu's chakra.

Or rather, it was there, but it was messed up all over the place.

Kirito glared at Oberon, "What did you do?!"

The blonde king smirked, "I simply showed them where the belonged."

Oberon's eyes then lit up as he smirked at Kirito arrogantly, "I know, since you're here, how about I show you the power of my women here?"

Kirito growled, "Don't fuck with me!"

The swordsman immediately charged, his swords drawn. In a flash of red, Kirito was right above the blonde King, poised to strike.

But the blonde man looked unfazed, instead, he simply snapped his fingers.

As Kirito swung his swords at Oberon's head, the man's eyes widened as something stopped his swords.

Kirito growled, as Suguha stood in front of, between him and Oberon, her katana, the Tempest, clashing against his Elucidator and Dark Repulsor, "Suguha-chan!"

The girl showed no reaction, except for the blank stare. Kirito tch'd before he jumped away just in time to dodge a stab from a rapier.

The man cursed as he landed several feet away before he jumped back just in time to several arrows that struck the floor.

Kirito gritted his teeth as he glared at Oberon. A flash of silver then caught his eyes as he swiftly raised his swords to block a kunai. Then he realized his mistake.

In a yellow flash, Hikari appeared in front of him, a Rasengan in her hand. The blonde Jinchurikii thrust her attack at Kirito's chest, and on instinct, the man raised his swords in a cross block.

The Rasengan struck the swords, and the impact blew Kirito away skidding across the ground before hitting a wall.

Kirito growled as he used the Dark Repulsor to help himself up, his mind racing for ideas to kill Oberon without hurting the girls.

Yui's voice then rang in his mind, "Papa! You still have the seal Ashina-sama gave you, right?"

Kirito's eyes widened as he remembered the seal in his pocket. The man took out the tag and stared at the girls.

Oberon raised an eyebrow as he saw the tag, but decided it was nothing.

Kirito quickly sheathed the Dark Repulsor and threw the Elucidator at Hikari. The black blade flew passed the girl, flying above her head, so she gave it no heed.

Then, in a burst of blue, Kirito appeared right above her, grabbing his sword. The swordsman roared, as he slammed the seal on Hikari's back, right before the girl spun and kicked him away.

Kirito landed on the floor, rolling several times before he got up again, just as the seal started to work its magic.

The glow in Hikari's eyes started to diminish, but then, after a moment, it glow returned, and the seal was burned to crisps.

Kirito stared in shock, then, Oberon's voice caught his attention, "That was a really good attempt, but not good enough, mongrel."

Kirito tch'd as he jumped away to avoid several chains from the ground. The swordsman quickly extended his wings and swerved to a side just in time to dodge a wave of wind and several arrows from Suguha and Sinon.

Then, before he could catch his breath, Asuna and Hikari appeared in front and behind him respectively, the former with her rapier drawn, and the latter with a Chidori in her hands.

Cursing his luck, Kirito spun, parrying Asuna's rapier with the Dark Repulsor as he swiftly flipped the Elucidator into reverse grip and held his arm at Hikari, "VARTEX!"

Immediately, a vortex formed around his arm and shot out towards Hikari, sending her back to the ground, fortunately without any major or serious injuries.

As Kirito landed he spun and kicked Asuna away, before turned and parried Suguha's katana while blocking a few arrows.

Kirito then quickly leaped away, 'How can I get to Oberon?'

He glanced around. Hikari and Asuna were already recovering, and Suguha and Sinon were staring at him blankly, no doubt ready to attack at any moment, and Oberon was merely sitting on his throne as if he was watching a live show.

Kirito was then brought out from his thoughts when Oberon spoke, "Hmph, I'll give it to you, mongrel, you're doing quite well."

Kirito glared at the man, not letting down his guard against the girls as he said, "No thanks to you, you're the reason this is happening in the first place."

Oberon hmph'd, "I have no idea what you're talking about, but since you're doing so well, as a reward, I'll show you our bond."

The self proclaimed king snapped his fingers, and chakra started to flow from Oberob to Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and Hikari respectively.

As the chakra flow stopped, Kirito's eyes widened. Now, all four girls had white hair, their skin were all pale. (Yes, this is from SAO MD, the Helheim banner but without the wings and armor)

Kirito asked in his mind, 'Yui, what did he do?'

Yui frowned, concern obviously in her voice, "He seems to have forced a bastardized version of natural chakra into them, if we can cut off the source, we can revert them back to normal."

Kirito tch'd, 'So our original goal hasn't changed, just harder.'

Yui nodded, "Be careful, Papa."

Kirito nodded, 'Yeah.'

The swordsman swiftly traced a dagger and shot it at Oberon, but before it could even reach 10 feet within Oberon's reach, the dagger was sent flying away by Suguha's katana.

Kirito cursed as the four girls sprang into action. In a flash of yellow, Hikari appeared behind Kirito. The now white haired girl raised her leg, and sent a kick at Kirito from the right.

The man managed to turn and hold his swords in a verticle cross block. That was his mistake.

As soon as Hikari's leg came in contact with Kirito's swords, his eyes widened, as he was sent crashing into the walls.

Kirito groaned/growled, as he quickly stood up, abeit painfully, 'I totally forgot she could do that, dammit.'

But as soon as he steadied himself, Kirito was forced to jump away, dodging Asuna and Suguha's blades.

Then, Kirito's eyes widened, as the two girls turned, with Asuna thrusting her rapier at him, sending a ball of highly compressed water at him, while Suguha slashed with her katana, sending a wave of high velocity wind at him.

Quickly tracing a dagger, Kirito shot it to his right and warped to it. But unfortunately, he was a tad bit too slow, as the two attacks managed to strike his left arm.

As Kirito landed on the ground, he glanced down to the left. The left sleeves of his coat were gone, and while not fatal, blood flowed out of his wounds, and it hurt like hell.

Taking a breath, Kirito started to chant, "Þú fylla heill austr."

Immediately, the wounds started to heal, but before the pain could fully vanished, Kirito was forced jump away, just in time to avoid an arrow, powered by wind chakra fron Sinon.

As Kirito fought the four girls, Oberon just sat on his throne, rather amused by the scene.

Back with Kirito, the man cursed as he kept dodging attacks from the four girls he loved. The man tch'd, 'It can't be helped...'

Kirito sheathed the Elucidator and Dark Repulsor, before he held his hands out, "Trace... On."

Immediately, the Blue Rose Sword and the Fragrant Olive Sword appeared in his hands, while a dagger appeared in the air and shot towards the girls.

Flipping the blue sword into reverse grip, Kirito yelled, "ENHANCE ARMAMENT! "

Swiftly warping to the middle of all four girls, he stabbed the sword into the ground, "SAKE! AOBARA!"

In an instant, ice covered the area, instantly encasing the four girls. Kirito then yelled again, pointing the Fragrant Olive Sword at Oberon, "ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"

The golden sword glowed slightly, before bursting into a hundred petals, all shooting towards the blonde king, with only one purpose, shred him to pieces.

Then, to Kirito's shock, right before the petals could reach Oberon, a wall of chains rose from the ground, blocking the petals.

Then, to Kirito's further surprise, the ice around him burst into pieces, Asuna, Sinon, Hikari and Suguha all charging at him.

Cursing his luck, Kirito quickly willed the Blue Rose Sword to summon four walls of ice as he extended his wings and flew upwards.

But then, to his surprise, as soon as he took off into the air, two chains wrapped around his feet, and he was flung straight into the ground, dispersing the copies of the Blue Rose Sword and Fragrant Olive Sword in the process.

Projecting two war axes as soon as he regained his bearings, Kirito managed to cut the chains. But as soon as he got up, Suguha and Asuna were already in front of him, swords drawn.

Kirito tch'd and clashed his axes against their blades. The man glared into their eyes, "Wake up! Asuna! Suguha!"

But the two girls showed no reaction, instead, their swords glowed with chakra, and Kirito's war axes shattered into pieces.

The man quickly backed away, drawing his two trusty swords just in time to parry Sinon's arrows.

Then, the glint of metal caught Kirito's eyes as a kunai flew past his head, and with a flash of yellow, Hikari appeared behind him, a Chou Odama Rasengan in her hands.

Unable to dodge the attack, Kirito spun, yelling, "ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"

The swords took on a blue aura, and the two attacks clashed. For a brief moment, the two attacks were equal, pushing against each other for dominance.

Then, the balance broke, if only slightly. The two swords started to crack, much to Kirito's shock. And in the next instant, the Elucidator and Dark Repulsor both shattered to pieces, and Hikari's Chou Odama Rasengan struck him right in the chest.

The Rasengan started to expand, and Hikari let go of the jutsu, sending it, along with Kirito, crashing into the walls with a huge explosion.

The king smirked as the smoke cleared, revealing Kirito on his knees, heavily injured, smoking and panting.

Oberon stood up from his throne and walked to Kirito, his arrogant and annoying smirk never leaving his face, "I suppose we have a winner, mongrel. But, look at you, everyone denies your presence, no one will help you now. You never should have challenged me, I am inevitable."

The blonde man raised his arm, and instantly, the Excalibur flew into his hand, "I suppose, I can let you have the honour, of dying by my sword."

Kirito merely glared at Oberon as the sword came down towards his neck. But then, right before the sword could touch his flesh, everything stopped.

Kirito's eyes widened as he shakily stood up, looking around, before a familiar voice reached his ears, "You look pretty banged up, Kirito."

The swordsman's eyes widened as he turned to see his late master standing in front of him, "K-kayaba-sensei?!"

Kayaba Akihiko smiled, "Its been a while, Kirito."

Kirito blinked, "But I thought your chakra ran out!"

The man laughed, "In your seal, perhaps. But my chakra will always be a part of Aincrad. This, Yggdrasil, is made from the ruins of Aincrad, and Oberon, inherited the other half of Aincrad's chakra."

Akihiko sighed, "I suppose I must apologise, Kirito. I had intended for the chakra in Aincrad to be sealed away, in Yui, and in the ruins. But I guess I didn't expect someone to receive that half of receive it."

The man bowed, "For that, I'm really sorry. I made you suffer, because of my mishap."

Kirito stood there, before he felt a burning feeling in his chest. And before the older man knew, Kirito had punched Kayaba hard in the face, sending him sprawling into the ground.

The younger swordsman said, "What are you apologising for? You already made us suffer when you made Aincrad. This isn't your fault."

The late master chuckled as he stood up, "I suppose so."

Kirito couldn't help but chuckle as well, before he heard Yui's voice, "Papa!"

The man blinked and turned just as the little girl embraced her father. Kirito blinked, "Yui? How are you out here?!"

Instead of the girl answering, Kayaba spoke, "She's not. We are in a space linked to both your mind, and the throne room of Yggdrasil, and time is frozen here."

Kirito nodded, "I see."

Kayaba nodded before he spoke, "Kirito. Just now, you were mere moments from dying."

The swordsman chuckled humourlessly, "I know, my swords are gone, my chakra is low. Sorry, Yui, but I failed."

The master nodded, "Yes, and no. Kirito, your swords are broken, yes, but your spirit has not."

Kirito patted Yui's head, "What more can I do now?"

The girl separated from the hug and beamed, "You still have me!"

Kayaba nodded, "Exactly. Kirito, your powers were never just fron your swords. You possess a much stronger power, also known as the Incarnate System."

Kirito frowned, "What do you mean?"

The dead swordsman nodded, "I'm sure Ashina told you how our world is like a system. There are two worlds, original one. They are the Elemental Nations and the Underworld."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, you mentioned it last time."

Yui continued, "Papa, as you know, you possess blood from the Underworld, even though we are in the Elemental Nations. As someone from the Underworld, you have the ability to bend the system that is the world."

Kirito's eyes widened, "Bend the world?"

Kayaba nodded, "Its called the Incarnate System, yes. In fact, you've been using it all the time. But all you used it for, was strengthen your body. The mark, as you call it, acted as a way to let you access it, but you don't need it now."

Kirito subconsciously reached up to his neck, "So, that means I can alter reality?"

Akihiko nodded, "In a way, yes. But you'll have to discover it yourself. Now, we should deal with Oberon first."

Kirito frowned as he lowered his arm, "How?"

Kayaba snapped his fingers, and in an instant, they were in Kirito's mindscape, facing the sword floating in the air.

The older blacksmith pointed at the sword, as the glow around it dimmed, "This. Its the last sword I came up with, Arondight. I didn't have time to forge it, so I projected it, and made it so that after you defeated me, it'd be sent to you along with Aincrad's chakra."

Kirito nodded, "I see."

Kayaba nodded, "But right now, just like your Reality Marble in the beginning, projecting the sword will take up a lot of chakra. I've removed the seal on it, so you should be careful when to use it."

Kirito nodded, "Okay."

Kayaba then said, "Oh, and before I forget, since this sword doesn't really exist yet, you'll need Yui to help you materialise it."

Kirito blinked, "Help me... materialise it?"

The older blacksmith chuckled, "You'll find out soon."

Before they could continue, however, Kayaba's hands started to fade. The man sighed, "I suppose my time is up."

Kirito nodded as Kayaba looked at him seriously, "Don't give up, Kirito. No matter what happens."

The swordsman nodded, smiling slightly as Yui took his hand, "Yeah."

Kayaba nodded, "In a few months, the portal to the Underworld will open. That's what I found out when I was in Aincrad. You should find all the answers you need then. Now get out there and save the world."

Kirito nodded as his former master once again faded away. After standing there in silence, Kirito looked at Yui, "Now, let's go save your Mamas, shall we?"

Yui beamed, "Yes!"

(linebreak)

Right before Oberon's sword touched Kirito's neck, a huge burst of chakra pushed Oberon away, slidding across the ground.

The blonde king's eyes widened, "W-what?!"

Kirito slowly stood up, his eyes glowing a bright yellow, and his whole body enshrouded by that same aura.

Oberon glared at Kirito, "So, you still had that power, mongrel."

Kirito didn't reply, instead, glared at Oberon. The blonde man smirked as he started to circle the swordsman, "So, what will you do? You lost to me not once, but twice. The world rejects you, just as everyone rejects you."

Kirito let out a breath, as he let out a pulse of chakra, healing his wounds and repairing his coat. Thanks to Yui, Kirito had replenished his lost chakra, and by using his powers of the Incarnate System, he had pushed his reserves way beyond the limits.

The man stared at Oberon, "First of all, you're wrong, the world doesn't reject me. I'm not alone. Yui, Nagato, Konan, Itachi, Yugao, Bee, and even the Raikage are down there fighting your knights."

Kirito raised his arms, "Besides, even if the world did reject me, even if everyone hated me, I will fight!"

The man thought, 'Let's go, Yui!'

The girl nodded, "Yes!"

Kirito roared, "TRACE! ON!"

Immediately, a huge sword appeared in his hands, pulsing with power, even more so than Oberon's Excalibur.

That alone shocked the king. Now that he had the chance to get a feel of Kirito's chakra, he realized it was more than his, far stronger than his, and he hated it.

Oberon gritted his teeth as the feeling of being inferior started to grow in his mind, and he roared, charging Kirito with the Excalibur.

Kirito pointed Arondight at him, but then, instead of attacking Oberon, Kirito turned to face the girls. The man's eyes glowed, and he waved his sword over them, using his power of the Incarnate System.

Immediately, the girls reverted to their normal appearances, and the odd green glow in their eyes vanished, much to Oberon's shock and anger.

Hikari blinked, "W-what did we?"

Asuna, Suguha and Sinon were the same, as everything came rushing back to them. They remembered everything, from when they were captured by Oberon, up until now.

Tears filled their eyes as they realized what they had done, albeit unwillingly. Asuna started, "K-kirito-kun..."

The man just smiled at them, "Just wait for a moment, I'll finish this quickly."

Turning to Oberon, Kirito steeled his face. Oberon roared, "What did you do?!"

Kirito spoke, "You're not the only one who can use seals, and you're not the only one who can change the world."

The king growled and charged the swordsman, ignoring the fact that he had absolutely zero skills with the sword.

But, Kirito didn't even needed to move. As soon as Oberon entered his range, Kirito raised Arondight, and swung it down.

In one clean slash, Oberon was perfectly split right into two, with the ground behind him having a visible cut going all the way to the walls.

Then, as the two parts of the body startes to fall, Kirito swiftly slashed horizontally, flaring his chakra at the same time, burning the body, or rather, parts of the body, to ashes.

Kirito closed his eyes, letting out a breath before he turned and walked towards the girls.

As he walked to them, the girls all looked at him with teary eyes. Then, to their slight surprise, Kirito embraced all four of them.

Kirito said, relief in his voice, "I'm glad you're all back."

Hikari nodded, "I'm really sorry, Kirito-kun!"

The three other girls all nodded, apologising to the man as they hugged him back.

Then, a small ball of chakra shot out of Kirito's chest, revealing Yui as she joined the hug, "MAMA!"

The four girls gladly hugged the girl back, and Suguha said, "We're really sorry, Yui-chan."

The girl beamed, "Its okay, we are all back now. And considering how Papa took care of Oberon, the world should he back to normal."

Kirito nodded as he let go of the girls, "Let's go home."

The girls all nodded as they went to pick up the broken shards of the Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor.

As Kirito looked at the shards, he sighed, "There goes my swords..."

Hikari looked down, guilt weighing down on her heart, "I'm really sorry, Kirito-kun."

Kirito shook his head, and patted the blonde's head with a smile, "Its fine. What's important, is that you're fine."

The man would never admit it, and he hated that he felt that way. But it really did hurt. The two swords he forged, all to protect the four girls from harm, were broken by them, even if they were not themselves.

Mentally shaking his head, Kirito pushed those thoughts away as he smiled, "Now, I have a sudden urge for ramen, whaddaya say?"

Hikari instantly beamed at him, while the other girls just sighed, smiling as they headed for the doors.

But right when they reached the doors, Oberon's voice boomed through the area, "HOW DARE YOU?!"

Kirito's eyes widened as he turned, but he saw no one. Asuna asked, "What? Where is his voice coming from?"

No one could answer as Oberon continued, "I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU, MONGREL! IF I CAN'T HAVE THEM, NO ONE CAN!"

Immediately, the throne started to glow, and Kirito's eyes widened as the throne started to grow as well. Kirito cursed, "Shit! Move!"

The five of them quickly dashed for the doors, with Yui returning to the seal. But before they could open and run past the doors, the throne turned into a huge portal, sucking in everything in front of it, that also include the five of them.

Kirito cursed his luck as they tried to stay in place, but the force pulling on them was too strong, it was only a matter of time before they were sucked in.

Kirito thought, 'Dammit, I only have enough chakra for them... Ah fuck it.'

Yui quickly realized what he was doing and yelled, "Papa! Wait!"

But the girl was too late, as Kirito activated his powers of the Incarnate System, surprising the girls as he took on a yellow hue.

Then, with a roar, Kirito conjured a barrier around the four girls, using up the last of his chakra. Sinon yelled, slamming her fist on the barrier, "Kirito-kun! What are you doing?!"

Kirito let out a breath as he slowly slid towards the portal, the man smiled sadly, "Sorry, even though we just got everything back to normal."

Hikari punched the barrier, anger burning in her eyes, "Open the barrier! Kirito-kun!"

The man shook his head, "I can't do that, not after getting all of you back."

Asuna yelled, "Then get in the barrier, Kirito-kun!"

Kirito smiled as he slid towards the portal more and more, "If I do that, you'll be caught in it, and I don't have enough chakra to rebuild a barrier again."

The girls were about to yell again, but they were interrupted, as the portal glowed, and they were blinded by the light.

After a short moment, the light died down, and the barrier vanished. And when the four girls opened their eyes, Yui stood in front of them, confused.

The girls looked around, and Hikari and Asuna fell to their knees, while Sinon and Suguha stood there in shock.

The throne was gone, and so was Kirito, all that was left, besides the empty throne room, were the broken shards and pieces of the Elucidator and Dark Repulsor.

XXX

DONE. So, that's the end of the Oberon arc. The next chapters will be the start of the Underworld Arc.

So, what happened to Kirito? What will happen to the girls now? We'll only know in the future chapters.

So, yeah, review please. Until next time, adieu.


	59. Chapter 59

Hey, so here it is. The 59th chapter. Thank you very much for your reviews, **NinjaFang1331, Guest-Questioner,** and **Autismguy593.** Your reviews are the things that tell me that my story is appreciated, even though I can see the number of viewers in the stats page, I thank you for that.

To everyone else, I'm asking you all to please try to review a chapter if you can. I don't need, nor do I want, long ass reviews. Just a simple sentence, or if you feel that I could have done better, tell me what it is.

Or if you have any suggestions that I could add in to this story, please do so. All I have is a brief outline of what will happen. I don't have the specific details of what the next chapter will be.

I always start writing the next chapter a day or two after I post the latest chapter. That's because I'm always thinking, maybe, or if there's something I did wrong in the previous chapter, and probably someone will point that out. Or if the readers have suggestions, I can try my best to add it in.

So that's why I keep asking for reviews. Its a form of feedback, to tell the writers how well, or how bad, they are doing, and how they can make the story better for the readers.

On another note, my finals for this semester are coming around, so I probably won't have time to work on the next chapter as much as I would like to.

So the next update will probably be around the end of next month.

 **Hey guys, I forgot to put in the summary for those who skipped the Oberon arc, if you did, so here it is.**

So basically, a while after the Aincrad arc, Kirito and the girls were given a mission to guard Nobuyuki Sugou, who was the son of Nobuyuki Ryoutaro, the owner of one of the companies that supported Konoha financially.

They succeeded in the mission, but were annoyed by Sugou's attempts in flirting with Asuna and Hikari, so to speak. And when Sugou met his father, Ryoutaro lashed out at his son for Sugou's behaviour, disowning him, as Sugou is known to be a playboy and his father found out about his very very bad attitude.

Sugou somehow stumbled upon the ruins of Aincrad and got half of Aincrad's remaining powers, while Kirito and Yui received the other half. Sugou got his mind affected by the powers of Aincrad, and after he killed Ryoutaro, the effects worsened until he only remembered that he was known as the fairy king, Oberon.

So Oberon built a fortress with the ruins of Aincrad and created an army of knights. He sent them to look for Asuna and Hikari, causing a series of kidnapping cases of blonde and brown haired girls.

This prompted Tsunade to send Kirito and the girls, along with the members of Team Gai, to check on it. This lead to Asuna and Hikari being captured.

After fights, with Kirito almost killing Oberon, the king used his powers to reset the world, sending the members of Team Gai on a supposedly non-existent mission, and wiping everyone's memories of Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon, except for Kirito.

Fastforward, Kirito found that Itachi, Nagato, Konan and Yugao, who were on a mission to look for the Gedo Mazo, were fine, as Nagato and Itachi managed to resist the effects..

The five of them rest in Uzu no Kuni, with Itachi sending a message to Bee in hopes that they were fine, which they were.

So the five Konoha ninja went to fight Oberon again, almost losing until Bee and Ay came. Then Kirito managed to breach the throne room, and found that the girls were brainwashed.

Kirito fought the girls, and got his swords broken, and before Oberon could kill him, Kirito received help from Yui and the hologram of Kayaba, unlocking the abilities of the power he received from Aincrad, which allowed him to kill Oberon. But after Oberon died, he managed to trigger portal that made Kirito vanish, leaving the broken shards of his swords and Yui in the throne room.

 **So that's all for the summary.** **This chapter will pick up on where I finished the summary.**

So without further ado, let's head on to the chapter.

XXXXxxx

In the throne room, the five girls were silent, as they realized what had happened.

Then, at that moment, Ay, Killer Bee, Itachi, Nagato, Konan and Yugao entered the throne room.

Yugao quickly went to her students, "Girls!"

Asuna looked up at her teacher, "Yugao-sensei..."

The other four just stayed silent, not responding. Nagato felt something was off before he noticed Kirito's absence, "Where's Kirito?"

The five girls didn't answer. But that was all the answer they needed. Kirito was gone.

Itachi closed his eyes, "I see. He's gone."

The girls just sat/stood there, not having the will to even respond or move.

Ay and Killer Bee just stayed silent. While not close with the swordsman or the other three girls, they knew how important Kirito was to Hikari. And given how Yui was his adopted daughter, it'd be no surprise if she was in shock too.

Then, the whole place started to tremble, as rubble started to fall fron the ceiling.

Yui's eyes widened as she sensed what was happening, which managed to snap her out of her stupor, "Yggdrasil is collapsing! We need to go, now!"

The elder ninjas' eyes all widened in realization and Itachi, Ay and Killer Bee quickly went to secure the door. Yugao pulled Asuna and Suguha up, "Come on, we need to move."

But the other girls didn't respond. Nagato tch'd and pulled Hikari and Sinon up, "We don't have time, sulk later, we have to move! Don't waste the lives Kirito saved!"

That did the trick, as the four girls nodded slowly, following the elder Jounin out of the place.

Soon, the whole place collapsed, leaving nothing but rubble in its place.

(linebreak)

A short moment later, on one of Nagato's summons, Itachi glanced back at where the girls were sitting, "Are they still in shock?"

Konan nodded, "I guess the fact that they lost Kirito was a huge blow to them. They keep blaming themselves."

Ay frowned, "I see."

The Raikage had seen his fair share of people losing their loved ones, so it was normal, but they needed to move on.

Nagato nodded, before he asked, "So, Raikage-sama. I'm sure we're done, as in the seals should be undone. What will you do now?"

Ay nodded, "Right now, I'll follow you back to Konoha. If the situation there is stable, then I'll return to my village."

Itachi nodded, "Thank you, Raikage-sama."

The Raikage hmph'd, smirking slightly, "Well, I also want to make sure that brat is fine."

Nagato chuckled, "I see..."

They then continued to fly back to Konoha.

Soon, the group reached Konoha. As Nagato's summon landed, they were greeted by Izumo and Kotetsu.

Itachi walked to them, "Sign us in, quick."

The two Chunnin nodded, doing a quick headcount before Kotetsu asked, "Kirito?"

Itachi shook his head silently, and the two men got the hint, the atmosphere turning grim.

Soon, after the signing them in, Izumo nodded, "That's all. You should go report to Hokage-sama."

The Uchiha nodded as they quickly left for the Hokage's tower, with Konan and Yugao nudging Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon before they moved.

In a short moment, after a quick Shunshin, the group arrived at Tsunade's office, which the Hokage quickly let them in.

Tsunade nodded to them, "You're back."

The woman then noticed the absence of one swordsman, "Where's Kirito?"

Immediately, the office became silent, and Tsunade understood what had happened, "I see... Your report then."

Nagato nodded and quickly gave his report.

After hearing what the Jounin had said, the Hokage sighed, "I see..."

The Senju glanced at her goddaughter and Hikari's sisters, along with Yui, "Girls... I'm very sorry..."

The four girls just nodded silently, Hikari hugging the fragments of the Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor tightly.

The Hokage sighed, "Take the next two weeks off, okay?"

The girls just nodded, not responding. Tsunade then looked at Nagato, Konan and Yugao, "Nagato, Konan, Yugao, can you three send them back home?"

The three Jounin nodded and led the four girls back to their compound. Itachi also excused himself, heading back to his compound to look for his brother.

After they left, Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples. Then, she heard Jiraiya's voice, "So... Kirito is gone?"

Tsunade sighed, "Yes. And its partially our fault."

The toad sage nodded, "I won't deny that. But remember, we weren't ourselves at the time."

The Hokage leaned back into her chair, "Yeah, but it doesn't make it better."

Jiraiya nodded, "How were the girls?"

Tsunade huffed, "How do you think? They blame themselves, a lot. Its not that different than how I felt when Dan died."

The sage nodded, "I see. I'll be going then, the Gedo Mazo is still missing, right?"

Tsunade huffed, "If you eavesdrop on a report like that again, I'll kick your ass all the way to Kumogakure."

Jiraiya chuckled, "I'll take note of that."

With that said, the man left the office with a Shunshin, leaving Tsunade alone as she brought out a bottle of sake.

Meanwhile, with the others, as they walked back to the Namikaze compound, Yui frowned slightly, thinking back on what had happened.

The portal, or at least, what it looked to be, had a lot of power. Power enough to eradicate the entire area. Yet, when it exploded, the throne room was intact, along with Kirito's broken blades, yet the man was nowhere to be found.

It was possible that the attack was aimed just at Kirito, but even then, there should have been some collateral damage.

That confused the little girl a lot. Soon, they reached the compound, and Yui decided it was better if she kept quiet for the time being, seeing as her mothers were all still in shock.

The girl prayed as she entered her home, 'Papa, if you're alive, please be safe.'

(linebreak)

Everything was dark, but he could feel the wind beating on his face. It was as if he was falling, and for a very long time.

The man was half conscious, barely aware of what was happening, but he knew it was bad.

Then, his body shrunk, gradually, as he fell, until his body was that of an infant.

Then everything turned black.

"Kirito/-kun!"

Several voices called his name. And the faces of four girls, a blonde girl with her hair in twin tails, a chestnut haired girl with long hair, a short black haired girl, and a girl with short brown hair, all came into his mind. But their faces faded just as quickly as they came.

(linebreak)

His eyes snapped open, and the faces of a blonde boy and a blonde girl, two of the people he treasured the most, came into view.

Kirito sat up groggily as the girl pouted, "Kirito! You're slacking off again!"

The black haired boy chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry, I just couldn't help it."

The blonde boy sighed, "It's fine... Let's get started."

Kirito just grinned shamelessly as he got up and followed the boy towards a very huge tree, an axe resting beside it.

The blonde boy was Eugeo, like Kirito, he was an orphan. Both boys were taken in by the church of the village of Rulid, and they had been given the task of chopping down one tree, the Gigas Cedar.

The two boys didn't mind, of course. According to the sisters of the church, the two had been found on the streets when they were mere infants. This was just a way of paying them back.

Plus, they were just 10 years old, so it beat having nothing to do. It also gave them a chance to play out of the adults' sights.

The girl's name was Alice Zuberg. She was the village chief's eldest daughter, with a younger sister named Selka Zuberg. She was also one of the girls in their village studying sacred arts.

Once, by chance, the two boys met Alice when she was walking around in the village, and she had been attached to them ever since.

Normally, her father, the village chief, would never allow something like this, especially not with her always visiting the two boys during her breaks fron studying the sacred arts.

But the man knew that the girl would eventually have to be married off to some noble, when the time came, and he wasn't cruel. So Gasupht allowed the girl to play with her friends, if only to build happy memories.

Now, the three children were standing in front of a giant tree, the Gigas Cedar. Everyone in the world had a calling, so to speak. It was their job, and their duty.

Sometimes, if a person completed their calling, if it could be completed, they could choose the next calling of their own choice.

And right now, Kirito and Eugeo's callings were both one and the same. Chop down the Gigas Cedar.

Kirito gripped the axe, then, with a strong swing, he slammed the axe right into a small gap in the tree trunk. But that was it, nothing else happened.

The tree was known to be a divine object, and people have been trying to chop it down for decades, and they had died without completing their task, for whatever reason.

As Kirito continued to slam the axe onto the tree, with a surprisingly good grip for someone his age, Eugeo and Alice were sitting by a side, waiting for Kirito to finish his 50 chops before Eugeo got his turn.

As Kirito hacked at the tree, Eugeo asked, "Hey Alice, how is your studies going?"

The blonde puffed her cheeks and glared at her friend, poking his side as she spoke, "Eugeo! I'm here on a break!"

The brunette laughed as he shrunk away, "Sorry! I was just curious!"

Alice sighed, "It's going fine, according to my teachers."

Eugeo grinned, "Then that's good."

The blonde nodded before she asked, glancing at the Gigas Cedar, "So, what do you plan on doing? Are the two of you really gonna be trying to chop this tree down for your entire life?"

Eugeo didn't answer, instead, it was Kirito as he finished his 50th chop, "Of course not! We're gonna take this stupid tree down before we reach 20!"

Alice smiled at the black haired boy's answer and nodded. Kirito then heaved the axe up and placed it before Eugeo, "Your turn bro."

Eugeo was about to stand up when Alice spoke up, holding up a small basket, "Before that, let's have lunch, the food will go bad if we leave it any further."

Kirito and Eugeo glanced at each other before they grinned in unison, "Yeah!"

Soon, after a short moment as Alice brought out the food, the three children were happily munching on the sandwiches the blonde girl brought.

Kirito grinned as he took a bite out of the sandwich, "This is really good, Alice. You got better."

Eugeo nodded as he swallowed the bread, "You'd make a good wife someday."

The girl's cheek immediately turned red slightly, although the boys were oblivious to it, as she looked away, "Well, I've been practicing for quite some time now. Sadly, they are only good for a few hours before their Life runs out."

Eugeo nodded as he drew an 'S' and 'C' shaped hybrid symbol with his fingers before tapping on the sandwich, and a small panel appeared before him, showing the status of the sandwich, where its Life had decreased immensely and only had a few hours left.

Kirito took another bite off his sandwich before he said, "Hey, I heard that if you place food in a cold environment, its Life would increase a lot."

Eugeo pondered that thought as he took another bite from his sandwich, "But how do we do that?"

The two boys glanced at Alice, and the girl pouted as she looked away, "Don't look at me! I still have yet to start on water type sacred arts."

Kirito finished his sandwich before he grinned, "Hey, remember that icy cave near the mountains?"

Eugeo nodded, "Yeah, the one near the border, right?"

Alice frowned and said sternly before any of them could continue, "No! Absolutely not!"

Kirito whined, "Why not? We're just there to gather some ice, we won't even go near the border!"

Eugeo nodded, "It'll be fine."

Alice sighed as Kirito nudged her lightly, "Come on."

The blonde girl sighed, "Fine, I don't have classes anyway... Tomorrow morning we go to the ice cave, get the ice, we come back, okay?"

Kirito and Eugeo both grinned and high fived each other, as Alice just sighed as she hoped she wouldn't regret her choice.

Later that night, as Kirito and Eugeo went back to their room in the church, Alice was in her house.

After dinner, Gasupht asked his elder daughter, "So, you went to visit those boys today again?"

Selka immediately pouted at that, though fortunately it was unnoticed by her parents.

Alice nodded, "Yes, daddy."

The man sighed, "Fine, but just make sure you remember."

As soon as those words left his mouth, he felt a hard chop to his head, and he heard his wife's voice, "Give her a break dear, she's still a child."

Gasupht frowned, "But-"

Sadina spoke with a sweet smile, "They are children. Besides, they are Alice's only friends in the village. And its all because of you."

Gasupht only nodded obediently as he saw his wife's smile that screamed, 'If you say anything else, I will shred your ass to pieces, and you'll be sleeping on the couch.'

Sadina then smiled at her elder daughter, "Alice, dear, so how was your play date with Kirito and Eugeo?"

Alice just smiled, "Well..."

Selka giggled, "They were slacking off again, weren't they?"

The blonde girl smiled and nodded, "Well, it was really fun."

Gasupth just sighed and smiled, seeing his daughter so happy. Truth to be told, the man liked the two boys. They were very lively, and Sadina had more than once showed that she wanted them to get with their daughters, once they were old enough of course.

The man couldn't blame his wife. The nobles outside their village, whom the man would most likely have to send his daughters to, were more or less pigs. And to be frank, he'd rather his daughters marry those two boys than those nobles out there.

The man hated to do it, but it was a tradition to wed the village chief's daughter or daughters to nobles, while the sons would most likely receive the mantle as the village chief once they become of age.

Of course, if the chief had no sons, then the mantle would be passed on to whoever the chief deemed worthy. That was how Gasupth got to be the village chief in the first place.

The man had actually considered passing the mantle down to Eugeo, once the boy was old enough, or even Kirito for that matter. The two boys were honest to a fault, and they were obviously the kind to stay their values.

That was something Gasupht respected a lot. But he also knew the two boys were still very young, and they could change any time, so he kept an open mind for now.

As the chief watched his wife tease their daughters, the man smiled, before he cleared his throat, "Alice, you can continue visiting your friends, just remember to come home on time."

The blonde girl beamed at her father and nodded happily. Seeing her sister getting permission, Selka pouted, "What about me?"

Sadina chuckled and patter her head, "Maybe when you're older, okay?"

The younger girl just pouted as she nodded reluctantly. Gasupht smiled before he cleared his throat, "Now go to bed, it's way past your bed time."

The girls both pouted as they reluctantly headed for their rooms, "Okay."

Sadina just giggled as their daughters went to sleep, leaving the married couple on their own as they continued talking about idle stuff.

(Linebreak)

The next morning, Alice had quickly prepared Kirito, Eugeo and her lunch, to Sadina's slight confusion as to why the blonde girl would prepare the food so early.

Regardless, since Alice didn't have any classes for the day, the woman helped her daughter and quickly sent the little girl on her way to find her friends.

A short moment later, Alice arrived at the Gigas Cedar, and to her relief, Kirito and Eugeo were already hacking away at the tree.

The girl decided to sit down by a nearby tree as she waited for her best friends to finish their work. As she sat there, her mind wandered off to a conversation they had a short while back.

(flashback)

A few weeks back, after Kirito and Eugeo had finished their daily requirements of 50 hacks each, the three friends were sitting by the river, as usual, having a picnic.

As they ate, Alice asked, "Hey, Eugeo, Kirito, I've been meaning to ask, do you have dreams?"

The blonde girl knew dreams were very far, for the two boys. It was decided the moment that chopping down the Gigaa Cedar became their calling. But regardless, Alice wanted to know.

Kirito grinned, "Of course, I had one last night, we didn't need to work, and we could just nap all day staring at the clouds."

Eugeo smiled forcedfully upon seeing Alice's exasperated face, "I think she meant dreams as in ambitions?"

Kirito oh'd, "Oh, so that's what you meant?"

Alice just sighed, not bothering to answer him. Kirito however, leaned back on his arms, "Hmm, to be honest, I never thought about it seriously. But, I want to become a knight, I guess."

Eugeo raised an eyebrow, "A knight?"

The black haired boy grinned, "Yeah, that way I can travel all around the world, and at the same time, I can protect everyone, especially Eugeo, Alice and Selka."

Alice smiled, "I see..."

Eugeo laid on the ground, "Dreams, huh... I don't really have one, but if Kirito wants to be a knight, well, someone has to look after him, right?"

The other boy glanced at Eugeo, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "What is that supposed to mean?"

The brunette didn't have time to reply as Kirito started tickling hin for a whole ten minutes, causing everyone to laugh as they continued to play around.

(flashback end)

As Alice waited for Kirito and Eugeo, that conversation still lingered on her mind.

But the girl was pulled from her musings when she heard her friends' voices.

Kirito's voice reached her voice, "Alice! You ready?"

The girl smiled as she quickly stood up, grabbing her basket, "Yes!"

Eugeo grinned, "Let's go."

Alice nodded, an action followed by Kirito as they started to walk towards the mountains, where the icy cave was, along with the borders separating the Human territory and the Dark Territory.

As they walked past the forests, reaching the entrance of the cave, Alice spoke, "Guys, I think we should turn back."

The two boys turned to the girl, and Kirito smiled playfully, "You're not scared, right? We're already here."

Alice puffed her cheeks, glaring at Kirito lightly, "I'm! Not! Scared!"

The girl let out a breath, before she looked at the cave, "No, I just have a bad feeling about this."

Eugeo smiled, "Don't worry, we'll definitely protect you if anything happens."

Kirito grinned and nodded, "Yeah!"

Alice just smiled and nodded before they continued walking into the cave.

As they entered the cave, Kirito commented, "Damn its dark..."

Alice heard her friend and said, "Wait..."

Eugeo and Kirito both turned, as Alice held up one of her fingers, "System Call: Generate Luminous Element."

Immediately, a ball of light appeared right at her finger tips, lighting up the area.

Eugeo gaped at the light, "Woah..."

Kirito nodded, having the same reaction. Alice just giggled, "Well, this is actually a simple art. We used to chant in these ancient languages, but the priests managed to change them into more simple terms."

Kirito stared at the ball of light, "That's so cool!"

Eugeo nodded in agreement, and Alice just smiled, "I still have a long way to go. Come on, the food needs that ice."

The three kids quickly continued into the cave. A short while later, Kirito shievered, letting out a breath, "Its so cold!"

Eugeo nodded, the brunette shivering as well, "W-well, its kinda to be expected, I mean, t-this is an ice cave."

Alice nodded before she handed the basket to Eugeo, "Hold this for me, please."

The brunette complied as she let out a breath, holding up her other hand, "System Call: Generate Thermal Element."

Instantly, a ball of flame appeared above her hand, and Kirito and Eugeo both quickly moved near the flame, happy to receive some warmth.

Alice just sighed, though she still smiled, seeing how her friends acted.

After a short walk, soon, the three kids reached the center of the cave, where all the ice was. But what caught their attention, was the one single light blue sword stabbed at the back of the place.

The sword was fully light blue, not unlike ice. The most defining trait of it, was the blue rose on the guard of the sword. And the sword radiated so much power, that even the children could feel it.

Alice noticed the slightly dazed looks on Kirito and Eugeo and she quickly nudged them, "Come on, we need to get the ice."

Kirito looked at the girl before back at the sword, "But why is there a sword here?"

Eugeo looked at Alice and he could see that she didn't want to go near the sword. The brunette looked at his friend, "Kirito, I think we should leave it here. We said we'd get the ice and go back, right?"

Kirito sighed and slumped down in defeat, "Fine... Let's get the ice and go back..."

The two other kids nodded and they started to gather ice before placing them in the basket.

Then, as Eugeo was picking up a chunk of ice, Kirito suddenly got an idea, the black haired boy grinning mischievously.

All of a sudden, Eugeo felt something very cold slide down his back, and the brown haired boy yelped rather loudly, literally jumping up as Kirito laughed his ass off.

Eugeo turned and glared at Kirito before he started chasing the other boy around, throwing chunks of ice at him.

Alice just sighed, though she couldn't hide the smile on her face. That is, until Kirito dropped a small chunk of ice down into the back of her shirt, earning a loud scream.

After about an hour of gathering ice and playing, the three children were finally done getting the ice.

Alice let out a breath as she checked the status of the food in the basket with the Stacia Window, "It really works! It says it will last until tomorrow morning!"

Kirito grinned, "What did I tell ya."

Eugeo just chuckled, "Come on, let's go back to the river."

Their little game had warmed them up a bit, but the three kids still felt cold in the cave, and they didn't want to stay any more longer than required.

Alice nodded, "Yes, we got what we came for, let's go."

The three started to walk, but then they realized something really bad. Kirito blinked, "Umm, where is the exit?"

Alice resisted the urge to facepalm. Through their game of throwing ice and chasing each other around, the three kids had ventured further into the depths of the cave, with no knowledge of where the entrance was.

Eugeo looked around, "Let's just keep going, we'll find an exit sooner or later."

Alice nodded, "You're not wrong..."

Kirito chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, let's go."

The three 10 year olds started to walk. For the next 15 minutes, they took several turns, using Alice's skill in wind sacred arts to carve markings on the ice walls to make sure they didn't move in circles.

And soon, enough, they reached an exit.

Kirito yelled in joy, "There's the exit! Let's go!"

But Alice felt that something was off, and she grabbed Kirito right before he could rush off, "Wait!"

The black haired boy blinked as he almost fell to the ground, thankfully managing to recover his balance, "What? There's the way out."

Eugeo also saw it, "No, this feels weird."

Kirito blinked and looked at the exit, the three of them moving forward slowly until they could see outside of the cave.

True enough, it wasn't the place they came from.

Instead of a lush green scenery of trees, with the blue sky over them, in front of them was a dry, barren wasteland.

The sky was dark, almost purple, as if the Sun didn't shine down on them. Instead of swallows, there were vultures flying around. And instead of bushes and grass, sand and dirt, and more importantly, skeletons of dead animals laid on the ground.

Kirito's face paled, "This is!"

Alice finished, her face just as pale as Kirito's, "The Dark Territory."

Eugeo gulped, "Guys, let's turn back."

The two other children agreed, but before they could move, a huge tremor stopped them in their tracks, as an object slammed right into the ground in front of them.

The dust quickly cleared, revealing a knight in blue armor, heavily injured from a battle.

Alice gasped, "An Integrity Knight?!"

The girl started to move forward, but Kirito and Eugeo noticed it and quickly tried to pull her back.

The blonde girl blinked and snapped her head back at them, "What are you two doing?! I need to help!"

Eugeo shook his head, "No, you can't break the Taboo Index, Alice!"

Kirito nodded in agreement. But Alice glanced back at the injured knight, who shook his head as he saw what they were doing.

But the blonde girl couldn't do it, she just couldn't leave someone who needed help alone.

Forcefully shaking off her two best friends, Alice rushed over to the injured knight, kneeling down by his side.

The knight coughed as he scolded, "You shouldn't have come over here, you broke the Taboo Index."

Alice placed her hands over the knight's chest, "You're injured, you need help."

The knight sighed, "Thank you... I'll do what I can to lessen your punishment, girl."

The blonde girl nodded, "System Call: Transfer Human Unit Durability: Self to Right."

Immediately, a green light glowed in Alice's chest, and it extended down to the knight through Alice's right arm, as the knight's health was restored.

Soon, the knight's wounds were fully healed, and Alice let out a breath as she smiled, happy that she had helped a person.

Then, suddenly, a dark voice reached their ears, "Singular Unit Detected, ID Tracing. Coordinate fixed. Report complete."

Everyone turned just in time to see the face of a blank man vanish into a black hole, and the three children's faces paled.

The Integrity Knight sighed, standing up, "I'm sorry, girl. Go home, and enjoy the last few hours there. There will be another knight that will come to get you in a few moments."

Kirito gritted his teeth, "But she helped you! Can't you help here?!"

The knight looked at Kirito before he looked down, "I'm sorry kid... I'll try to lessen her punishment... But... Rules are rules."

A loud roar then caught the knight's attention, and he looked up, seeing a dark dragon battling a smaller dragon.

The knight yelled, "Hoshigami, come!"

The dragon roared in response, blasting the larger dragon with fire before it landed in front of the knight.

He mounted the dragon, but not before looking at the children, Alice having ran back to her friends, "I'm sorry, girl. Go home, and spend the last few hours with your family... I'll do whatever I can."

With that said, the knight shot into the sky, drawing his sword, roaring as he charged the dark dragon.

The three children could only stare in awe as the knight and dragon fought like their lives depended on it, which was true, before the three kids quickly ran back into the cave.

(linebreak)

A short moment later, the three kids were back in the village. The encounter at the border had freaked them out, and they didn't have the mood for a picnic anymore.

As the three sat by a bench in silence, after a long moment, Kirito asked, "So... What now?"

He looked at Alice, who just stayed silent, unsure what to make of what had happened.

Eugeo also glanced at his best friend, before he answered, "Maybe that knight will help us, and Alice won't need to get punished."

Alice closed her eyes, "If only it were that simple... I... I broke the Taboo Index..."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, "But you saved an Integrity Knight! That has to mean something!"

Eugeo nodded in agreement. But before they could continue, a loud bang sounded through the village, and everyone gathered around to see an Integrity Knight dismounting his dragon.

Alice just looked down, placing down her basket. But Kirito grabbed her hand, "Wait, Alice. We're not sure if he's here for you."

Eugeo nodded in agreement. But Alice didn't believe it one bit, even if she didn't pull Kirito's hand down.

With Gasupth, the chief had easily noticed the Integrity Knight landing in their village, and had approached the knight, "Sir, may we help you with anything?"

The knight wore a blank whitish grey armor, with a bow and quiver of arrows behind his back. The blank armor meant that the knight had been given his position recently. Regardless, he stared down at Gasupth with an intimidating presence.

The knight spoke, "Just a few hours ago, we received a report, that one Alice Zuberg, broke the Taboo Index by crossing over the border to the Dark Territory."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Gasupth's face paled. The man wanted to question the knight, but he knew, Integrity Knights would never lie about the Taboo Index, especially one as serious as this.

Not waiting for a reply, the knight walked over to where Alice, Kirito and Eugeo were. The two boys instantly stood in front of the knight.

The elder man looked down at the boys and sighed, "Step aside, boys."

He didn't really like doing this, especially to a little girl like her, but he had a job to do.

Kirito glared up at the knight defiantly, "No! She crossed the border to help an Integrity Knight! Why must she be punished?!"

Eugeo nodded and wanted to add more, but several adults came and pulled them away, allowing the knight to look at Alice.

The knight nodded, "You're coming with me."

Alice just nodded, following the knight to his dragon as she tied her up with chains, linking her to the dragon.

Kirito growled and forcedfully pushed the adults away, running for the dragon, "Alice!"

Eugeo did the same, grunting as he started running towards the dragon, his hands outstretched to grab Alice.

But right before they could reach her, several villagers pulled them back, pushing Kirito and Eugeo down, holding them back from chasing after Alice, at the same time, warning them of the consequences.

None of their words reached the boys' ears, as they growled/struggled against the adults.

"ALICE!"

(linebreak)

A few months later, the village returned to its normal routine.

But there was one difference. Alice wasn't there. And the impact of that change was huge. The village chief had rarely been seen smiling, and the two balls of energy that accompanied the blonde girl were only seen going to or back from the Gigas Cedar, and in their rooms.

The village as a whole was also affected. Everyone knew Alice, to a certain extent. The girl was kind to everyone, especially Kirito and Eugeo. Having someone like her taken away from the village was a huge blow.

No one blamed Kirito and Eugeo, of course. They were kids, and if they used them as scapegoats, that would be unfair to them.

So everyone just moved on with life. But some people move on, some don't.

Kirito and Eugeo were two of those people.

Unknown to everyone in the village, the two boys had made an agreement. They would each do 200 hacks on the tree per day, and then train themselves so that they can enter the Sword Mastery Academy in North Centoria.

That process repeated for the past few weeks.

Today was no different. But today, was also a day that would change the lives of the two boys.

After finishing their daily chops for the day, with the tree having a much deeper dent than before, and a much lower durability unit, the two boys were training using two wooden swords.

Kirito swung his blade at Eugeo, who clumsily parried away before spinning and aimed a slash at Kirito's abdomen.

The black haired boy dropped to the floor, avoiding the attack before he rolled away.

Then, Kirito quickly sprang to his feet with impressive speed for a 10 year old boy before he parried Eugeo's sword.

As the two boys trained, unknown to them, a middle aged man was watching them from behind the Gigas Cedar.

The man hard short grey hair tinged with blue, and he had a familiar long sword behind his back.

The man smirked, 'Well, I'll be. I was just checking how they were doing for her, but it seems they really do have potential.'

The man decided to make his presence known as he walked out, clapping slowly, "Kids, I've gotta say, I'm impressed."

Kirito and Eugeo were both scared by the man's sudden appearance. The black haired boy asked warily, "Who are you?"

The man grinned, "Me? Well, I guess you can call me Bercouli."

Eugeo blinked, "Bercouli? Like the legendary hero Bercouli?"

The man blinked, before he chuckled, "Well, something like that."

Kirito grinned, "Your mom must have loved that story a lot to name you after him!"

Bercouli chuckled, "Yeah, I guess so."

The man then looked at the wooden swords in the boys' hands, "Anyways, I saw how you two were moving, you have potential."

Eugeo blinked, "What do you mean, Bercouli-san?"

The man smirked, "Just Bercouli is fine. I'm a swordsman, and I believe you two have what it takes to enter the Sword Mastery Academy, and become an Integrity Knight."

Kirito and Eugeo both blinked, and they both yelled in unison, getting right in the man's face, "Really?!"

Bercouli was slightly taken aback by their response before he chuckled, "Of course, that is, if you have the right guidance. You two have the basic grip of a sword, but you two have no technique, and I doubt you will if you continue to just swing like that."

The man paused a bit, letting it sink in to the boys, before he continued, "So, I want to train the two of you."

He smirked, pulling his sword out and slamming it onto the ground, "So, whaddaya say, boys?"

Kirito and Eugeo glanced at each and shared a grin, before they turned to Bercouli and spoke in unison, "Yes! Bercouli-sensei!"

The man smirked, "Good. We begin now."

XXX

Done. So that's the beginning of the Underworld arc. I'm changing quite a bit from canon. Here, Kirito will be with Eugeo right from the start.

And they will both be aiming to get to Alice. And I'm sure you all know what Alice is doing now, if you watched the anime.

So, review please, and until the next chapter.


	60. Chapter 60

Hey guys. Sorry for the late update. As I said in the previous chapter, I had my finals the last few weeks for this sem.

And I didn't say this, but right after my finals, I went for camp, and there was no signal there... No wifi... So I couldn't work on the chapter for three days...

Also, I forgot to add the summary for the Oberon arc, so I updated the previous chapter. So yeah...

Anyways, with that aside, **Guest** , yes, it is meant to confuse people who have no idea what is happening. If you have yet to watch SAO season three, then you won't know anything. And even then, I changed a lot from canon when it comes to the beginning part of the arc. Hell, most of the details of this arc won't even be the same as canon, since this is a real world setting and not VR...

So yeah, that's that, so let's get on with the chapter.

 **Xxx**

After meeting Bercouli, the two boys would train day by day, night by night, under the swordsman's guidance.

The older swordsman was impressed. If he didn't knew they were beginners, he'd say that they were swordsmen, just out of shape, especially Kirito.

While Eugeo picked up the techniques easily, Kirito was on a whole new level. Every slash, every stab, every technique he showed them, it was as if Kirito already knew them, but had for some reason forgotten about them.

It was as if Kirito had amnesia, but the muscle memory allowed him to quickly pick up on the techniques.

Bercouli found it strange, but he knew Kirito was a good boy, so he didn't care much about it.

As Kirito traded blows with Eugeo, the black haired boy getting more hits at Eugeo than the blonde boy at him, Bercouli spoke, "Okay, time's up!"

The two boys quickly stopped their spar, moving to stand in front of their master.

The older man nodded, "You two are quite good for your age, but if you want to enter the academy, you'll have to do better."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, they knew that they were not ready yet. Bercouli then chuckled, "Well, in a few years, I don't doubt the two of you will be able to match most of the better students in academy."

Kirito and Eugeo both grinned at the comment. Bercouli then said, grinning, "Now, since we're done for the day, how about I bring you boys out of the village for lunch?"

Kirito eyes gleamed with curiosity and excitement, "Really?!"

Bercouli smirked, "Of course, can't have my students being holed up near a tree forever, right?"

Kirito nodded enthusiastically, but Eugeo was a bit worried, "But wouldn't the chief and everyone else be worried?"

Bercouli grinned, "Don't worry, we'll be back before sundown."

Eugeo blinked, "But the nearest village is at least a day's travel."

The master blinked before he realised that he had yet to tell his students, "Ah, I haven't told you two yet."

Kirito and Eugeo both looked at each other confusedly as their master turned and walked into the clearing, then, he gave a clear and loud whistle.

Then, after a short moment, a faint roar reached their ears, before a huge creature landed on the ground with an audible boom.

The two boys stared in awe as Bercouli grinned at the dragon. It was a grey blue dragon, similar to the swordsman's hair. The dragon grunted as it lowered its head in respect to its master.

Kirito marvelled at the dragon, "Woah!"

Eugeo nodded in agreement, "How? I thought only Integrity Knights can have dragons."

Bercouli froze for a brief second, totally forgetting about that fact before he grinned, "I'm just awesome like that, and no, I'm not an Integrity Knight. I found Hoshig-, Hoshi here, when he was injured, nursed him back to health, and he's been with me since."

The two kids marvelled at the dragon before they ran and started touching the dragon's scales. Hoshigami didn't react, just staring at his master, his eyes clearly saying, 'You owe me a whole bucket of meat.'

Bercouli just smiled sheepishly. He couldn't let the two boys know the truth just yet, or everything he did would probably backfire.

The man fake coughed, "Ahem, enough touching him boys, let's get going, shall we?"

Kirito and Eugeo both grinned and said in unison, "Yeah!"

The man mounted his dragon, before he quickly pulled his two 10 year old students onto the dragon. He then glanced down, "Let's go."

The dragon grunted and took flight, startling the two boys as they shot upwards.

(linebreak)

After a short flight, the dragon reached a nearby town, landing near the entrance of the village between the trees.

After Kirito and Eugeo got down from the dragon, Bercouli got down and spoke, "Sorry for troubling you, Hoshigami, I'll call fron you when we're done, then I'll prepare a full course meal for you later, okay?"

The dragon grunted, a happy glint in his eyes. Though the dragon couldn't say it, he had enjoyed flying around freely, especially since he was carrying his master/partner, along with his students.

Hoshigami nodded before he took off into the sky, flying away to rest in some random place.

Bercouli then turned to his apprentices, "Now, let's get going, shall we?"

The two boys nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah!"

(linebreak)

After a short walk through the town, they reached a restaurant that was rather packed with people.

Bercouli grinned, "This place serves some of the best food I've had, and it just so happens to be near your village."

Kirito and Eugeo oh'd as they entered the shop. As they sat down, they were greeted by a woman with neck length black hair, "Bercouli-san, its been a while."

The swordsman nodded with a smile, "Yes, it has, Rinko."

The woman smiled and looked at the two boys, "So, who are these boys?"

Bercouli nodded, "My new apprentices, I thought I'd bring them here for a break."

Rinko nodded, "I see."

The man then asked, "So, how are you two holding up?"

Rinko's smile never left her face, but her eyes slightly lost a certain spark, "We're fine... Its been years since he... left... But we're doing fine."

Bercouli nodded, "Yuuki?"

The woman's eyes slightly regained the spark, glancing towards the counter for a second, "She's doing great. She doesn't remember much about her father, but she's trying hard so that she can enter the academy."

The man nodded, "I see..."

A short moment of silence fell upon them, confusing the boys slightly before the woman asked, "So, may I have your orders?"

Bercouli nodded with a smile, "The usual."

Rinko smiled and looked at Kirito and Eugeo, "Boys?"

Kirito glanced at the menu on the wall before a name caught his attention, "Ra... men?"

Rinko caught the boy's gaze at the menu and smiled, "Yes, its a dish from my late husband's home. Would you like to try it?"

The boy smiled and nodded, "Yeah!"

Rinko nodded with a smile, taking down the order before she looked at Eugeo, "What about you?"

Eugeo also looked at the menu before he smiled at Rinko, "I'll just have what Kirito is having."

The woman chuckled and nodded, "Okay, two bowls of ramen for you two, and the usual for you, Bercouli-san."

Bercouli nodded, "Thanks, Rinko."

The woman smiled and nodded before she left to relay the orders to one of the chefs.

As the woman left, Bercouli saw the confused faces of his students and decided to explain, "Rinko is a friend of mine. She's... was one of my... friend's wife. But years ago, he left us... So to speak."

Kirito and Eugeo oh'd. But they didn't push further, it was obvious that their master didn't want to talk more about the matter.

Bercouli just smiled softly as he watched his students bicker around. He then frowned as he closed his eyes, 'Where did you go, Akihiko...'

After a short moment of enjoying the atmosphere in the restaurant, Rinko brought the food on a tray to their table. The woman smiled as she took the tray away, "Enjoy your meal."

Bercouli smiled back and nodded in thanks as the woman went to help her staff serve the other customers.

The man then looked at his students, "Let's eat, those noodles will go bad if its cold."

Kirito and Eugeo grinned and started to eat their food. But as soon as Kirito took a bite, nostalgia hit him as the smell and taste of the ramen filled his senses.

For some odd reason, Kirito wanted to cry, and he felt his heart ache for a second, as if some part of him was missing or empty.

The feeling, strangely, left as soon as it came, and it confused the hell out of the child. Kirito was then brought out of his musings by Bercouli, "Kirito, what's wrong?"

Eugeo nodded, "You spaced out a bit."

Kirito blinked before he looked at the bowl of noodles, "No, its nothing."

The boy continued eating, and Bercouli shrugged, "Okay."

Eugeo nodded and also continued eating.

After that, the meal progressed normally. Bercouli told stories about his more recent adventures to the boys, and as expected, they listened to his stories in awe.

The swordsman also didn't fail to notice the little girl, roughly around the same age as his students, with red eyes and black hair with a tinge of purple, hiding behind the counter, peeking at them while listening to his stories.

After half an hour, the three finished their meal, and it also marked the end of Bercouli's stories. The man held back a chuckle as he saw the girl behind the counter visibly deflated into her seat.

Bercouli then stood up and pointed at the counter, "I'm gonna catch up with Rinko for a while, how about you two go play with that little girl over there?"

Kirito and Eugeo blinked as their master left the table to talk to Rinko, then they glanced at the counter, just in time to see the girl duck behind the counter.

The two boys grinned at each other and approached the girl.

With Bercouli, the man smiled as he saw his students pull the young girl out from behind the counter before they eventually went out of the store.

The swordsman glanced apologetically at Rinko, "I hope you don't mind, Rinko."

The woman smiled and shook her head, "No, its better like that. She doesn't have any friends her age, and this might just help her open up."

The swordsman nodded as they continued catching up.

Meanwhile, with Kirito, Eugeo and the girl, the two boys had managed to pull the girl away from the counter, and now, they were walking around the town, the girl showing them around.

As they walked, Kirito asked, "So, what do you normally do here, ermm... Sorry, I forgot to ask for your name..."

Eugeo smiled forcedfully, remembering that he also forgot to ask for her name even though they introduced themselves. They had been a bit too caught up with trying to pull the girl away from the counter before she could properly say her name.

The girl giggled, "It's okay, my name is Kayaba Yuuki. Just call me Yuuki."

Eugeo smiled, "Kayaba Yuuki, that's a nice name. Right, Kirito?"

The blonde boy waited for his best friend's response as they walked, Eugeo and Yuuki walking ahead of Kirito, but the boy didn't reply. The two blinked as Eugeo asked, "Kirito?"

The two turned and saw Kirito with a blank face. Yuuki blinked and got in front of the boy's face, "Kirito?"

The black haired boy muttered, "Kayaba... That sounds... familiar."

Then all of a sudden, the boy grunted and grabbed his head pain, falling to one knee.

Images flashed through his mind, the first one, was a man, with short hair, holding a wooden shield and a wooden sword.

The next one, was himself in a small apartment, with four girls sitting at a dining table as he cooked in the kitchen, all of them laughing happily as they conversed.

The third one and final image, was an image of a huge cone shaped structure, which quickly blurred away, revealing the same man in the first image, but wearing red and white/silver armor with real weapons, poised to slash at him, with many other people on the ground around them.

"Kirito?"

Eugeo's voice reached his ears, yet he swore he heard several other voices layered with it.

The boy gasped as he found himself staring at the ground. He looked up to see the worried faces of Yuuki and Eugeo.

Eugeo looked at him worriedly, "Kirito, are you okay?"

Yuuki looked at him with the same worried expression, "Yeah, you suddenly fell to the ground after I said my name."

Kirito shakily stood up, frowning. He tried to remember what he saw, but for some odd reason, he couldn't remember any of it. The boy shook his head, "Its nothing, I just stumbled."

The black haired boy stood up with Eugeo and Yuuki's help. The girl asked, "Are you sure you're fine?"

Kirito nodded, smiling, "I'm fine. Come on, you said you'd show us around, right?"

Yuuki smiled and nodded before she continued leading them around the town, telling them what the places were, why they were there, and so on so forth.

Soon, they reached the local church, and the three children entered the place. The church was standard in terms of design, but unlike the church in the village of Rulid, there was a huge grey statue at the center end of the hall.

It was a knight, with armor, resting both of his arms on the hilt of a broad sword that was stabbed at his feet. The knight's armor was beautiful, or rather, intimidating.

The helmet was similar to that of a normal Integrity Knight, without any horns, except that the edges of the helmet were sharper, as if they were feathers or spikes.

The armor, however, did not resemble the Integrity Knights, not one bit. It was sleek, yet bulky at the same time, with many lines running along the armor. (Imagine the armor of Zero from Garo.)

Kirito blinked, "Is that?"

Yuuki smiled and nodded, "Yes, the God of Swords and Weaponry, Kazuto. Of course, we worship Stacia and all the other gods, but we mainly pray to him."

Eugeo nodded in understanding. Across the lands, people worshipped different gods. Some worship the goddess of birth and peace, Stacia, some worship the goddess of the Sun, Solus, some worship the goddess of life, Quinella, along with the goddess of wisdom, Cardinal.

And in the case of this town, they worshipped the god of swords, weaponry and justice, Kazuto.

With Kirito, the boy stared blankly at the statue. It felt familiar, yet different at the same time. Kirito muttered the name, "Kazuto..."

Yuuki nodded with a smile, "Well, its said that he fought off Vector, the god of darkness once, here in our land. It resulted in his soul separated from his body. People say his soul is wandering somewhere in the world, while his body, or Granteed, as they call it, is sealed somewhere in the mountains."

Kirito nodded, "I see..."

Eugeo also nodded, staring at the statue of the knight/god in awe. Yuuki then turned, pulling the two boys' arms, "Come on, there's one last place I wanna show you guys."

The two boys looked at each other and shrugged before they followed the purple haired girl out of the church.

After a short walk, the three reached the top of a small hill, overseeing the entire town. Eugeo said in awe, "Woah!"

Kirito nodded in agreement. Yuuki smiled as she sat down, "I happened to find this place by accident, and you're the only two people I've showed this placed to."

The two boys followed, sitting down beside her, as Eugeo asked, "What about your other friends?"

Yuuki smiled sadly, "Well, I always stayed in my mom's shop... So I didn't have many friends."

Kirito and Eugeo both oh'd, not knowing what to say.

The girl then beamed at them, "But I have you two now, right?"

Kirito grinned, "Yeah! We're your friends, Yuuki!"

Eugeo smiled and nodded in agreement. After a short while of talking, the three kids started playing around on the hill, laughing as they chased each other.

(linebreak)

Later in the evening, Kirito, Eugeo and Bercouli were at the gates of the town, with Rinko and Yuuki standing behind them.

Bercouli smiled, "Its been great catching up with you, Rinko. You too, Yuuki."

The woman smiled and nodded, "Same here. Do stop by to visit again if you have the chance, I'm sure Yuuki would like to see her friends again."

Yuuki beamed, "Definitely!"

Kirito and Eugeo both grinned, the former nodding, "Of course! Yuuki is our friend now!"

Bercouli chuckled, "We should get going, these two need to get back by sundown."

Rinko nodded in understanding, "Of course, have a safe trip."

The three males smiled/grinned before they turned and left the town, the two boys waving at their new friend as they did.

Soon, the three vanished from sight, and Rinko and Yuuki turned to go home.

As they walked, Rinko spoke up, "So, how was it, your two new friends?"

Yuuki beamed at her mother, "It was fun!"

The woman smiled, "I see."

After a short moment of thinking, Rinko said again, "I heard from Bercouli, those two are training to enter the Sword Mastery Academy."

Yuuki blinked, "R-really?!"

The woman nodded, "Yes."

She turned to looked her daughter with a smile on her face, "So, how about we start your training?"

The young girl just grinned at her mom, "Yeah!"

(linebreak)

A few years later, the boys were now 16. Under Bercouli's tutelage, the two young men had grown into two promising swordsmen.

Unfortunately, they hadn't made much progress in chopping down the Gigas Cedar, not even reaching half of its life. But their master had assured them that it would be dealt with when the time came.

So the boys continued their daily routine of training with their master, chopping the tree, eat and sleep.

Throughout the years, Kirito and Eugeo's relationship with Alice's family had somewhat improved, though it was mostly because of Selka.

The younger daughter of the Zuberg family visited Kirito and Eugeo in their own small house after they had moved out of the church. The girl would visit them in the evening, after they'd finish their work.

Gasupht and Sadina didn't mind. They were more than aware of the younger girl's crush on the two boys, though which of them, they weren't sure.

Now, as usual, the girl was in the two young men's home. The girl smiled as she shook her head. The two boys were so similar, yet so different.

On one side of the small house, Kirito's stuff laid all over the place, while the other side, Eugeo's stuff were all placed neatly.

The girl paused, as she looked at the picture on the desk, showing herself, her sister, Kirito and Eugeo when they were younger.

Until now, Selka still didn't know the real reason why Alice broke the Taboo Index. According to Kirito and Eugeo, it was to save an Integrity Knight, and some villagers believed them, while others didn't.

But the girl was confused, why would Alice break the Taboo Index to save the knight? Why risk her life for someone she didn't know? It just confused the younger girl a lot.

Selka frowned softly as she glanced out of the window, right towards the icy cave that lead to the border between the human world and the Dark Territory.

But before she could go further, Selka was brought out of her musings by Kirito's voice, "Selka! You there?"

The 14 year old girl smiled as she saw Kirito and Eugeo enter the house, "Kirito-san, Eugeo-san. Welcome back."

The two boys grinned at her before they started making dinner together, though it was mostly Selka doing the work while instructing the boys on several tasks.

Soon, the three of them were sitting at the table, enjoying a simple dinner. Eugeo smiled as he took a bite, "Selka, you really don't need to clean our stuff for us, you know?"

The girl puffed her cheeks at him, "And I told you I want to do it."

Eugeo wanted to say more, but Kirito nudged him with his legs, telling him to shut up as Kirito smiled at the girl, "Thank you, Selka. But... Don't you have your friends?"

The girl pouted, "Well, yeah..."

Kirito nodded, deciding to just leave it as it is, "I see... Well, as long as you can handle it.."

The girl just grinned, "Of course!"

Eugeo glanced at Kirito, but one look from the black haired teen stopped him from whatever he was going to say.

As they continued eating, Selka asked, "So, how's the training coming?"

The young girl had one time went to visit the two boys when they were supposed to be hacking at the trees, only to see Kirito and Eugeo training together, fortunately when Bercouli wasn't there.

The two boys had asked her to keep it a secret, and the young girl had more than happily agreed.

Kirito grinned, "Its coming along nicely. Soon, we'll master those sword skills and cut down that damn tree, then we can go to the sword mastery academy and become knights."

Eugeo smiled determinedly, "Then we can find Alice."

Selka smiled and nodded, though she felt her heart ache slightly for a moment. The whole reason the two boys were even training to be knights, from what she knew, was for her older sister.

To Selka, everything they did was for just one reason, one person. Alice. Her sister. The younger girl wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was jealous of her sister. Even when Alice wasn't here, all the two boys would think of, was her.

But even as those thoughts appeared in her mind, a part of her hated herself for even thinking like that. No one was at fault here, so she just smiled, helping them whenever, however she could, even if it hurt a lot.

Kirito then asked, "On that note, how is _your_ training going?"

The nun in training beamed at him, "It's fun! I just learned how to conjure all seven elements!"

Eugeo blinked, "Seven elements?"

Selka grinned, "Yes! Fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, light, and darkness."

Kirito chuckled, "Well done, I suppose."

The younger girl smiled, blushing slightly in embarrassment from the praise.

After that, they just had small talk as they finished their meal before Kirito helped Selka clean the dishes, while Eugeo went to clean up the table.

Soon after, they finished cleaning up, and it was time for Selka to head home. The young girl smiled at the two boys, "I'll be going home then."

Eugeo nodded with a smile, "Be careful, kay?"

Kirito just waved from inside the house. Selka smiled and left the house, heading home to rest for the night.

After the girl left, Eugeo said, "Selka really doesn't need to do this, ya know?"

Kirito nodded as he cleaned his wooden sword, "I know. But, you know, ever since Alice was... a lot of the villagers keep comparing Selka to her... I think, she feels jealous, and the only time she really smiles is when she's here."

Eugeo nodded, "I see..."

Kirito sighed and glanced out the window, seeing Selka's shrinking figure, "Well, I hope she'll realise she doesn't need to feel that way... Selka is her own person, after all."

Eugeo nodded, staying silent. Kirito set down his sword, "I suppose that's enough, get some rest."

The blonde nodded as Kirito went to bed. Eugeo glanced out of the window, before he decided to go get some sleep.

(linebreak)

The next day, in the afternoon, Selka laid in her bed. The sister from the church had told her she could take the day off in the morning, so she had nothing to do.

Kirito and Eugeo were most likely hacking at the tree and training, and just about all of her friends had their respective jobs/work to do.

The girl's thoughts eventually drifted to Alice, and Selka glanced towards the direction where the ice cave was.

The girl hesitated for a short moment. She wanted to go see how Kirito and Eugeo were doing, but she also wanted to see why Alice crossed the border.

Selka let out a breath and put on her clothes and walked out of her room, heading for the door, "Mom, I'm going out!"

Sadina replied from the back, "Okay! Be careful!"

Selka just shouted a reply before she headed out. But as soon as she stepped out of her house, the girl stopped, 'Wait, how do I even get to the cave?'

Selka frowned at her stupidity before she decided to ask the gatekeeper when she reached the village entrance.

After a short while, the girl reached the ice cave, rubbing her arms as a cold breeze blew past her. Selka muttered, "Cold..."

The girl let out a breath and chanted, "System Call: Generate Thermal Element."

Immediately, a ball of heat energy appeared at her fingertips, warming her up immediately. The girl then walked in, blissfully unaware of the eyes that were watching her from the shadows.

(linebreak)

A few hours later, at noon, Kirito and Eugeo had just finished their daily routine early, and Bercouli had decided to let the boys rest for the day before he went off to where he usually went after training the two teens.

As they walked, Eugeo said, "Hey, Kirito, it's been on my mind for a while now, but Selka has always helped us, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, why?"

The blonde continued, "Then shouldn't we do something for her?"

Kirito scratched his chin, "Hmm, I suppose you're right... Any ideas?"

Eugeo considered a while as he looked at the sky, "Hmm, its still early... How about we bring her out of the village?"

Kirito raised an eyebrow, "Out of the village? You think old man Gasupth would let us bring her out?"

Eugeo shrugged, "Probably, I mean, the closest village away is a day's walk away."

The black haired boy looked at the forest, "How about a picnic?"

Eugeo grinned, "Like we used to do back then?"

Kirito chuckled, "Yeah, but this time, we do the cooking."

The blonde's grin widened, "Why not?"

The black haired teen nodded and started to head for their house, "Come on, let's go back and prepare the food, then we can go find Selka."

Eugeo nodded and followed his best friend back to their house.

A few hours later, the two boys had finished preparing a basket of food (coughmakingahugemessoftheirkitchenintheprocesscough) and quickly headed for the church where Selka should be.

When they reached the church, Kirito saw one of the sisters and asked, "Excuse me, have you seen Selka?"

The woman regarded the two boys before she answered, "No, today is her day off from her training. I've not seen her since this morning."

Kirito and Eugeo shared a glance before Eugeo asked, "What about her friends?"

The woman smiled slightly and pointed at a direction where a young girl around Selka's age was walking. Kirito and Eugeo gave their thanks before they approached the girl.

Turns out none of them knew where they were, and the two boys felt something was weird, so they continued looking for the girl.

That was until they asked the gatekeeper of their village. The man answered, "Well, I saw her going out of the village, towards where that ice cave should be. I mean, she did ask me where the cave was... So she probably might be there?"

Kirito and Eugeo shared a look and they instantly guessed what the other were thinking. Kirito nodded to the man, "Thank you, we'll go check on her."

The gatekeeper nodded, "Please do so, its dangerous for a girl like her to go into the forest like that."

The two boys nodded and immediately headed for the cave. They weren't worried about Selka being in the forest, since they practically lived in the forest outside the village.

No. They were more worried about her actually entering the cave, and reaching the border of the worlds, no matter how unlikely it was.

(linebreak)

A short while later, the two boys were at the entrance of the cave, the icy wind blowing at their faces. Kirito glanced at Eugeo and nodded, "Let's go."

The blonde nodded and followed his brother in all but blood into the cave, with one purpose only. To find Selka.

As the two teens walked, Eugeo thought aloud, "Where could Selka be though?"

Kirito looked around, searching for the girl, "We'll just have to look, the cave is not as huge as it seems."

Eugeo just nodded as they wandered in the caves, looking around for any signs of Selka's hair and her usual attire.

They continued for approximately 15 minutes, until Kirito noticed a small gap on his left. The black haired teen nudged his friend, "Hey, look."

The blonde turned, following Kirito's line of sight, and he frowned, "This wasn't here the last time we came here..."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah... But we haven't been for years now. Who knows what lives here now..."

Eugeo let out a breath, "So, what now?"

Kirito didn't look away from the gap, "What else? We search the place for Selka. Come on."

The two boys slowly and carefully entered the gap, reaching a dark cave. Kirito frowned, "I can't see anything in here..."

Eugeo nodded and pulled out a small plant he had picked up earlier before they entered the cave, "Wait a sec... System Call : Generate Luminous Element."

Instantly, the plant lit up, lighting up their surroundings to a small degree. Then the teens nodded at each other and continued walking.

As they reached the more inner parts of the cave, Kirito noticed that the cave was getting brighter, and it wasn't because of their little glowing plant.

The black haired teen stopped Eugeo from going any further as he noticed the source of light, coming from behind one of the ice pillars.

Eugeo looked at his friend, "What's wrong?"

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he pulled Eugeo to behind the icy pillars, covering the light from the plant as he did. The teen whispered, "Stay quiet, and look."

The two teens peeked out from the sides of the pillar. Then they saw them. A dozen green, armored humanoid creatures, with pointy noses and ears. They were all the height of the teens' chest, but only because they had hunched backs.

Kirito and Eugeo both immediately knew what they were. Goblins. Creatures from the Dark Territory, known to kill humans mercilessly, and in some occasions, eat humans.

Standing in the center of the dozen goblins, was a goblin several times the size of a normal goblin. A goblin king.

But what caught their attention, was the wooden cart at the side of the goblin hoard. And on top of the cart was a familiar unconscious girl. Selka.

Eugeo started to stand up, but Kirito quickly pulled him down. The blonde snapped his head at his friend, "What are you doing?!"

Kirito shook his head, pointing at the goblins, "We can't go out like this... Look at the goblins, its obvious they are the ones who captured her. And they are all armed."

The black haired teen then pointed to another cart near them, one that was filled with swords and other weaoons, "We should get the swords first. We need weapons. Of course, getting out safely is the best, but I doubt we can get out of here with Selka without a fight."

Eugeo nodded, understanding his logic, "Then, what do we do?"

Kirito crouched down, "First, we get the swords, then, I'll distract the goblins and you get Selka."

He took the plant out from his shirt and handed it to Eugeo, "If I remember correctly, goblins hate light. So use it to ward them off if they come to you."

Eugeo nodded. He wanted to object to the plan, but he knew Kirito was the stronger one between them, so it would be better for him to get Selka and run.

Kirito nodded, seeing Eugeo understood the plan, "Let's go."

The two teens slowly and quietly crept towards the cart full of weapons, fortunately able to do it while staying behind the pillars.

Kirito picked up a sturdy looking one handed sword and handed Eugeo another sword before he ducked behind the pillar again. The teen then looked over the pillar, watching the oblivious goblins.

Kirito quietly ducked behind the pillar and looked at Eugeo, "They're distracted, go to Selka, I'll get them to the other side of the cave."

The blonde nodded and moved over to the next pillar. He then looked back at Kirito, "Be careful, got it?"

The black haired teen grinned, "Who do you think I am? Go."

The blonde nodded and slowly crept towards the cart where Selka was. Kirito then quietly peeked out from the pillar he was hiding behind.

Kirito thought, 'Okay, as soon as Eugeo reaches Selka, I'll go out...'

He prepared himself to charge out as soon as the blonde reached the girl. But then, a loud crack drew everyone's attention. Right towards Eugeo's direction, who was standing right in the open.

Kirito cursed as the goblin king smirked at Eugeo, "Ho, what do we have here?"

The goblins immediately surrounded the blonde, cackling as Eugeo nervously backed away.

Kirito let out a breath as he could hear the heavy footsteps the goblin king made. Then he charged.

The first five goblins never saw it coming. With the sword, Kirito managed to cut down five goblins before the others realized what was happening.

Kirito gritted his teeth as the other goblins quickly realised his presence and charged at him, and he just roared and continued doing his best in cutting them down.

The goblin lord glanced at Kirito, regarding the teen as he slashed down the goblins, slowly moving towards them. The larger goblin smirked, "Interesting..."

Soon, Kirito stood in front of the goblin lord, with the other remaining goblins surrounding him warily.

The goblin lord asked, "Are you seriously trying to fight us, young human?"

Kirito gritted his teeth. Eugeo was pretty much fine, the goblins were more wary of him, and the blonde was slowly backing away, unfortunately not towards Selka since there were several goblins there.

The black haired teen cursed their luck at the same time. He doubted the goblins would simply let them go, so there was only one option left.

Kirito widened his stance, tightening his grip on the sword, "No, I'm not just fighting you."

His eyes hardened, surprising the goblins, "I'm winning!"

Without another word, the teen charged, brandishing his sword as he did. The goblins growled at his response, and charged at him.

Kirito just gritted his teeth as the first two goblins came into range. The teen swung his sword at the first goblin, cutting it down as he spun, barely dodging the swipe from the second goblin's mace.

Not missing a beat, Kirito ducked, using his legs to sweep the second goblin over his feet before kicking him away.

After dealing with the two goblins, Kirito continued rushing forward, cutting down another two goblins in the process.

Then, the last four goblins tried to overwhelm him with their numbers. But Kirito just pushed back harder with his sword before swiftly slashing down two of them with his sword.

The remaining two goblins just roared at him, one of them swinging its club at him, but Kirito used his sword to block the blow before striking the goblin hard on the head with the butt of the sword.

The other goblin growled, trying to catch Kirito by surprise by bashing him in the head. But the teen saw it coming and rammed it with his shoulder, pushing the goblin away, before he cut the goblin down with his sword.

The teen took a small breath and was about to turn to the goblin lord when he felt a huge shadow looming over him. Kirito quickly leaped away just in time to dodge a massive cleaver slamming into the ground, courtesy of the goblin lord.

The teen rolled on the ground, quickly spinning to face the goblin lord. The huge goblin merely sneered at the teen, "You really have guts to face me, this Ugachi-sama!"

Kirito merely smirked and charged the goblin lord, meeting Ugachi's blade with his own.

(linebreak)

Meanwhile, as Kirito was fighting the goblins and the goblin lord, Eugeo was holding back five goblins that surrounded him.

The blonde held the lit plant on his left, while holding the sword on his right hand. Eugeo glanced at Kirito who was cutting down goblins one by one, before looking at his enemies, 'Kirito is fighting so hard... I have to do my best too!'

The blonde knew he wasn't as good as his brother, but he had to fight, to save Selka.

The blonde grunted and charged, swinging his sword at the first goblin. The goblin growled and blocked the attack, but the block quickly crumbled away as Eugeo thrust the plant at its face, blinding it, allowing the teen to slice its head off.

Eugeo then heard a clanking noise from behind him, at the same time seeing a goblin charging from the front. Gritting his teeth, the blonde spun, thrusting the plant at the goblin from behind while he parried and stabbed the goblin from the front.

The blonde allowed himself to take a small breath, eyeing the two remaining goblins in front of him. Fortunately, they weren't smart enough to flank him.

The goblins growled at him, before they charged. Eugeo grunted, twisting his body, allowing one goblin to pass by him before he thrust his sword, straight through the goblin's chest.

Not letting the chance go, he spun, using the dead goblin as a shield just in time to block the last goblin from bashing his head off.

Then, Eugeo kicked the corpse of the goblin off of his sword, surprising the last goblin before he swung his blade hard, leaving a severed head on the ground.

Eugeo panted, just as he realised that all five goblins were dead. Then, as he was about to turn to help Kirito, he heard a scream. And then he turned, he saw Kirito crashing right into an ice pillar.

(linebreak)

Earlier, Kirito was pushing against Ugachi's cleaver, slowly and expectedly losing in the battle of strength.

The teen cursed and pulled back, causing Ugachi to lurch forward before Kirito pushed back hard, surprising the goblin lord as he stumbled back.

But Ugachi wouldn't be the leader of his squad if he let such a simple trick deter him. Quickly recovering, Ugachi swung his massive sword down at the smaller human, clashing against the sword.

The goblin lord had to hand it to the boy, while he hadn't fought any Integrity Knights, the number of humans he had faced that could match him blow for blow like Kirito did could be counted in one hand, and Kirito had just added one to the list.

The goblin lord was brought out of his musings when Kirito, surprisingly, moved forward, sliding his sword along Ugachi's cleaver, and landed a horizontal slash on his abdomen.

Ugachi growled lowly in pain, swinging his cleaver at Kirito to slice him in half. But the boy's smaller body allowed him to easily slip away to launch his next attack.

Kirito let out a breath, positioning himself in a stance Bercouli had taught him, to initiate a sword skill, "Sharp Nail."

His sword immediately glowed red, as the mana from his body flowed into the sword. Then, he moved.

Quickly entering his range, right in front of Ugachi, the teen swung his sword down, landing a deep gash on Ugachi's chest. Then, before the goblin could react, the teen pulled his blade back, leaving yet another slash on the goblin's chest.

Finally, Kirito repositioned his sword, roaring as he swung his sword down for a third time, right as Ugachi pulled his gauntlet up to block the attack.

Normally the metal gauntlet would be enough to stop a sword like Kirito's, but not one enforced with a sword skill, and the blade cut right through the metal like paper, Ugachi's arm right along with it.

But right as Kirito stood up, the teen caught a glint of metal, and the cleaver slammed right into his left arm, sending him flying some distance away before crashing into the ground.

Kirito, having not experienced pain to that degree, screamed in pain as blood flowed down his arm.

The teen's scream was cut short as Ugachi slammed his foot into his gut, sending him flying straight into Eugeo.

The goblin lord growled, "You wretched boy! You'll pay for this humiliation!"

Eugeo gasped as he saw the blood covering Kirito's arm, "K-kirito!

The blonde gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on his sword as he stood in front of Ugachi. The goblin growled at the boy, "I'll kill all of you!"

Eugeo steeled his nerves and charged, parrying Ugachi's sword with his own before he thrust the plant's light at the goblin's face, making him stumble back.

Repositioning himself, Eugeo prepared a sword skill as his sword took on a blue glow, "Vertical Arc."

Then he charged. Managing to stun the goblin shortly by throwing the plant at Ugachi's face, Eugeo slid right in front of the goblin.

Grunting as he gripped his sword, Eugeo swung his sword down diagonally, leaving a deep gash on Ugachi's abdomen. Then, not missing a beat, Eugeo repositioned his sword, and left another slash on Ugachi, making a V-shaped wound.

Then, not wanting to miss the chance, Eugeo leaped up, aiming for Ugachi's head. That was his mistake.

For a goblin of his size, Ugachi was a fairly agile opponent, and he was also very much trained in withstanding pain. And right as Eugeo jumped up, Ugachi gritted his teeth, pushing back the pain to the back of his mind, and swung his blade.

Eugeo never saw it coming, nor could he block or avoid it, as the cleaver slammed into his abdomen, leaving a deep wound as he was flung away.

At that moment, Kirito managed to stabilize himself and stood up, just in time to watch Eugeo crash into the ground right beside him.

The teen gasped as he rushed over to his brother in all but blood, "Eugeo!"

He looked at the deep slash on Eugeo's stomach, and he started to panic before he mentally slapped himself. It was rather deep, possibly fatal if not treated immediately, and unfortunately, he didn't have the skills to treat it.

The only one who had any hope of saving Eugeo, was Selka, but she was unconscious, and Ugachi was in his way.

So in the end, there was only one thing to do. Take down Ugachi the goblin lord.

Kirito closed his eyes as he heard the goblin's footsteps slowly closing in. Steeling his nerves, and doing his best to ignore the pain, Kirito grabbed his sword and stood up to face the goblin.

Ugachi growled and raised his sword, "Die, boy!"

The goblin swung his sword, but at that moment, Kirito sprang into action, blocking the blade with his own.

Ugachi growled, pushing up and slammed Kirito onto the ground, "You damned human!"

The goblin slammed his cleaver at Kirito's head, but the teen swiftly rolled away onto all fours before he pushed himself up, spinning as he landed on the ground.

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he faced Ugachi. The goblin only roared as he charged forward, "DIE!"

The teen steadied himself and charged, reminding himself not to let Ugachi use his superior strength, before he clashed blades with the goblin.

Kirito grunted as he pushed against Ugachi's sword, glad that he had cut off Ugachi's other arm, as he was sure he would have been overwhelmed easily if the goblin had both arms.

Then, Kirito titled his sword, allowing the sword to slide down the cleaver as he dashed past the goblin, surprising Ugachi as he could do nothing due to the lack of his left arm.

Not missing the chance, as Ugachi spun, Kirito activated another sword skill as the blade glowed green, "Sonic Leap!"

In the blink of an eye, Ugachi's head flew off, and blood sprayed out of the goblin's neck like a fountain before the body fell to the floor.

Kirito let out a breath, suddenly feeling exhausted as the adrenaline left him. The teen then turned to move towards Eugeo, but after three steps, he stumbled and started to fall.

But before he could hit the ground, Kirito felt someone grab him, and he saw a dark blue armor enter his line of sight as a familiar voice reached his ears, "Easy there, kid. Fanatio has Eugeo covered, and my squad is securing the area."

Kirito looked up, "B-bercouli-sensei?"

The man sighed, "You did something very stupid right there, challenging Ugachi of all people..."

Kirito tried to speak, but was cut off as Bercouli chuckled, "But you did great."

The teen then looked around, noticing a knight with long wavy and silky black hair in light purple armor treating Eugeo, while another knight, this one wearing a bland grey white armor tending to Selka.

He also noticed several other knights, all wearing the same grey white armor scouting the area. And he realised one thing. They were all Integrity Knights.

But before he could ask his teacher what was happening, Kirito's fatigue caught up to him, and everything went black.

XXX

Done. So, several timeskips here, and I brought in Yuuki. The reason I brought her in, well, you all remember that Kirito used 'Mother's Rosario' in the Aincrad arc, right? I don't think I need to explain more there.

And then the fight with Ugachi. Now, as I said, I changed a lot from canon. So here, I changed the fight slightly, as Eugeo, unlike canon, actually has training.

And it kinda bugged me, cuz in canon, there was an Integrity Knight fighting the dragon at the borders, but still in the Dark Territory, yet no one was there to stop the goblins.

So that's why I put the knights in, even if they're late.

So yeah, that's the chapter. The next one will be where Kirito and Eugeo head to the academy, and wrapping up several things here and there.

So yeah, review please. I'll see y'all next time.


	61. Chapter 61

Hey guys, this is the 61st chapter.

Thanks, for everyone who took the time to review. If you find something wrong, or any mistakes, please don't hesitate to tell me.

To the **Guest** , about your suggestion for the MHA/One Punch Man story, normally I'd PM you, but since you're using a Guest account here, I can only do a shoutout. Sorry to say this, but I don't have much knowledge on MHA. One Punch Man, probably, but I've never thought much on the setting. It's an interesting idea, but it'll have to go onto the waiting list. Thank you for the idea, it gave me something to think on, and I'll consider it in the future.

To the other **Guest** , for now, if you're looking at it from the previous chapters, and linking back all to the previous arcs, yes, this arc makes absolutely no sense. Everything will be explained after this arc. But I'll give you a hint, it's similar to SAO canon, to some extent, but with a lot of changes.

But for now, just think of this as my take on the SAO Alicization arc, or as I call it, the Underworld arc, except with a fantasy world setting instead of VR. And I suppose I'll give you another hint, if you watched Buddy Complex, I took a certain concept from that particular series.

So yeah, without further ado, let's start the chapter.

XXX

A while later, Kirito groaned as he opened his eyes groggily, shielding his eyes from the light as they adjusted to the light.

The teen immediately noticed that he was in his room. Turning his head, Kirito noticed Eugeo putting on a shirt, his stomach area perfectly fine.

Only then did he remember. They had gone to find Selka, only to find her unconscious among a hoard of goblins.

They had planned to save her and leave quietly, but things went south, and they had to fight the goblins.

Kirito remembered Eugeo getting cleaved in the stomach, and he vaguely remembered killing the goblin lord.

Then he frowned, it was fuzzy, but he vaguely recalled that Bercouli was there, and so were a squad of Integrity Knights. That was one thing he had to ask Bercouli when they saw him.

But before Kirito could dwell more on the matter, Eugeo's voice brought him out of his musings, "Kirito? You're awake?"

The black haired teen blinked as Eugeo walked over to him with a smile. Kirito smiled softly as he sat up, "Yeah."

Then his smile dropped slightly, "E-eugeo, are you okay?"

The blonde nodded, his smile dropping, "I'm fine. I remember that goblin's sword slicing my stomach... And when I woke up, we're here."

Kirito nodded, "I see... Selka?"

Eugeo frowned, "I... don't know. I was planning to go out and check..."

Kirito nodded, "I see... She's probably fine... I think... Somone must have brought us back, so they might have brought Selka back too."

Eugeo nodded, "Hopefully."

Kirito then got off of his bed and walked out of his room, and he quickly noticed a note on the dining table. Kirito blinked as he noticed it was from Bercouli.

On it wrote:

'Meet me at our usual location as usual.'

Kirito blinked several times and turned, "Hey Eugeo!"

The blonde came out of their room, and Kirito passed him the note. After reading it, Eugeo looked at Kirito confusedly, "Why would Bercouli-sensei give us a note telling us to meet him?"

Kirito closed his eyes and took a breath, "Ya know... After you got injured, I managed to kill that goblin... And then I saw Bercouli-sensei, with several Integrity Knights... I think he wants to talk to us about that..."

Eugeo blinked, rather confused about what Kirito was talking about, but decided to just nod and find out when they met up with their teacher.

Kirito looked out from the window towards the church, where the only clock in the village was, "We still have an hour or so, let's go find Selka."

The two boys quickly headed for the chief's house, and they stopped outside the door. Kirito glanced at Eugeo, who nodded before Kirito knocked on the door.

A short moment later, the door opened to reveal Sadina. The woman smiled as she saw the two boys, "Ah Kirito, Eugeo, here to visit Selka?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, is she okay?"

Sadina just smiled and let them in, "I think the two of you should find out yourselves, I'll call her to come down."

The two boys just nodded as they sat down. No matter how much they'd grown, Sadina still made them feel like children, but that was probably one of the good things about her.

After a few minutes, Selka came down with Sadina, the younger girl beaming as she saw the two teens, "Kirito-san, Eugeo-san."

Sadina smiled as Selka walked over to her friends, "I'll prepare some snacks, you three carry on."

Kirito spoke up, "Thank you, Sadina-san."

Eugeo nodded, "Yeah, thanks, Sadina-san."

The woman just nodded as she headed to the kitchen, leaving the three alone in the living room. For a brief moment, silence befell upon them, until Kirito asked, "Selka, how are you doing?"

The girl smiled, "I'm fine."

Her smile dropped slightly, "I heard... Kirito-san and Eugeo-san tried to help me, and got injured in the process."

Eugeo smiled, "Well, we're fine, don't worry about it."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, the important thing is that you're okay."

Selka's face turned red upon hearing those words, not knowing what to say. Eugeo blinked, "Selka, your face is red, are you sure you're fine?"

Selka blinked as Eugeo leaned over and placed his palm over her forehead, "E-eh?! E-eugeo-san?!"

The blonde frowned slightly, "Hmm, you seem fine."

Kirito just chuckled and smacked Eugeo on the back lightly, "Sit down bro, I'm pretty sure she's fine, just a bit embarrassed, right?"

Selka just nodded silently, but Eugeo wanted to protest, worried that Selka might have injuries or any sickness, when Sadina interrupted them with some snacks.

After that, the three, along with Sadina, spent the afternoon talking about random things, catching up on their respective lives until Kirito and Eugeo had to meet Bercouli.

(linebreak)

The two teens were in the forest, reaching the Gigas Cedar. And as usual, they saw Bercouli waiting for them.

But unlike as usual, the man wasn't in his normal attire. Instead, he wore a dark blue armor, one that anyone would recognize, and for Kirito and Eugeo, a set of armor that they would never forget.

Bercouli greeted, "Hey, Kirito, Eugeo."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, the former asked, "Bercouli-sensei, that armor is..."

The man raised a hand, stopping Kirito, before he said, "To answer your question, yes, I am an Integrity Knight. But before that, about your little adventure into that cave."

The two boys wanted to protest and reason with their teacher, but before they could even speak, Bercouli raised his palm, silencing them, "What you did, was reckless. But, your fight with Ugachi and the goblins, I must say I'm impressed."

The man grinned, "Ugachi is quite a well known goblin, at least, among us. Kirito, you managed to defeat him, and Eugeo managed to hold him off for a short moment."

The man paused for a short moment before he continued, "The two of you managed to wipe out a recon squad of goblins, normally that'd require a small team of Integrity Knights. That speaks volumes of your skill, Kirito, Eugeo."

Bercouli let out a breath, "That also tells me that I have nothing left to teach you. All you two need, is experience."

The two stayed silent, not knowing how to respond. Bercouli then tossed two sheathed one handed swords, one to Eugeo, and one to Kirito.

The two teens caught the swords easily, sending looks of confusion at their master. Bercouli then pulled out a blue sword, with a rose on the guard, and stabbed it into the ground.

The two teens easily recognised the sword, but didn't get the chance to ask their teacher when he said, "This will be your final test, Kirito, Eugeo."

He gestured to the Gigas Cedar, "Kirito, I want you to cut down the tree. Use whatever you've learned from me, and whatever you can get. Nothing more, nothing less. I will, of course, stop you from trying."

His eyes then landed on Eugeo. The man pulled the blue sword off of the ground, showing it to his blonde student, "Eugeo, your task, is to take this sword off of me. Simple as that."

Bercouli then placed the blue sword on his back and looked at both of them, "Of course, you two can work together. So, am I clear, boys?"

His only response was them drawing their swords, and he grinned in anticipation. The two teens didn't need to talk to know that they had to work together to finish their tasks.

The teens shared a glance, and they knew what they needed to do. First, Eugeo would keep Bercouli occupied, and after Kirito chopped down the tree, he'd go back and help Eugeo. Or whichever came first.

Without another word, Kirito charged towards the tree, while Eugeo charged at Bercouli.

Immediately, Bercouli moved, pulling out a normal sword and swung it at his student, stopping Kirito in his tracks as the teen was forced to block.

Bercouli then caught Eugeo moving for the Blue Rose Sword on his back. The man smirked and kicked Kirito away before blocking Eugeo's sword, locking their blades.

Bercouli chuckled as Eugeo struggled to push against him, "Not bad, Eugeo, years of chopping at that tree with that axe sure does wonders to your strength."

The blonde didn't reply, instead pushing harder at him. Bercouli chuckled again, "Unfortunately, that's not enough to push me back."

The man pushed, easily pushing the blonde's sword away. Eugeo just tch'd, but didn't let off. Instead, he used the momentum to spin and swing his sword at Bercouli yet again.

But the Integrity Knight merely blocked the sword again. Then, to Bercouli's confusion, Eugeo grinned as they locked blades.

Bercouli blinked, curious why he was smiling before he realized he couldn't see Kirito anywhere. The man's eyes snapped over to the tree to see Kirito right at the Gigas Cedar, his blade poised to strike.

The man hid a smirk as Kirito's blade glowed blue, and the teen swung.

The moment the sword hit the tree bark, the glowing sword cut through the tree like a knife through hot butter, and Bercouli's eyes widened as Kirito's sword cut through half of the tree, before stopping as the glow faded.

Bercouli was honestly surprised and impressed. He had expected Kirito to only cut through a quarter of the remaining parts of the tree, not half.

That meant Kirito had already passed his test, but he still wanted to test them more. Besides, Eugeo had yet to take the sword off of him.

Bercouli was then brought out of his musings as he caught Eugeo reaching for the Blue Rose Sword again, only to fail as Bercouli smacked his hand away.

The two then continued trading strikes, the blonde trying to move behind Bercouli for the sword, while Bercouli blocked Eugeo at every turn, having fun with his student. For the older man's case, anyways.

Back with Kirito, the teen cursed, he had the perfect chance to cut down the tree, but it seemed Bercouli wasn't going easy on them.

The teen then tried to pull his sword out of the tree. But to his surprise, the sword didn't budge one bit, obviously stuck in place.

Kirito cursed, he doubted Eugeo could keep Bercouli occupied long enough for him to pull out the sword.

The teen's mind raced for ideas on how to get his sword or cut down the tree before helping Eugeo. After a brief moment, his eyes fell upon the sword on Bercouli's back, and Kirito mentally slapped himself.

No. He didn't need to find a way to cut down the tree. It was already in front of him all this time.

Kirito let out a breath, meeting Eugeo's eyes as they both nodded at each other. Then, Kirito charged.

Bercouli's eyes widened as he easily saw Kirito running at him barehanded. The swordsman pushed Eugeo away and turned to kick Kirito away.

But, to his shock, yet again, Kirito had saw that coming and ducked, sending a devastating palm strike to Bercouli's chin.

Not letting the chance slip, Kirito continued pushing on. Using Bercouli's knees as a platform, the teen jumped up and swung his right leg, kicking Bercouli right in the face, sending the man stumbling to the ground.

Not missing the chance, Kirito grabbed the sword from Bercouli's back and rushed back towards the tree.

Bercouli cursed as his protégé stole the sword from him. Granted he had been going easy on them, it was still a pretty impressive display on hand-to-hand combat from the young man.

The swordsman hid a grin as he got up to chase after Kirito only to see Eugeo standing in front of him.

Bercouli grinned as Eugeo charged him, obviously intent on keeping him busy for Kirito to finish his task.

The man blocked a slash from Eugeo. Truth to be told, if he were to be serious, Eugeo was at least on the level of a junior Integrity Knight, while Kirito was already at the level of the average Integrity Knights, and they weren't even at their primes.

Bercouli grinned as he swung his sword at Eugeo's right, only for his blade to meet air as the young teen dodged the strike and aimed a stab at Bercouli's chest.

The man blocked the attack as he kicked Eugeo away before turning his attention to Kirito, who had reached the Gigas Cedar.

Kirito let out a breath as he gripped the Blue Rose Sword in his hands, then he took his stance for the 'Horizontal' skill, just as he did before.

Then, the sword glowed blue, and Kirito grunted as he swung the blade.

In an instant, a visible line appeared on the tree, as Kirito's sword arm was outstretched on the other side. Then, after a brief moment, the tree started to lurch backwards, until it slammed right into the ground with a loud boom.

Eugeo shielded his face with his arms as the dust and wind blew at him, while Bercouli smirked proudly at his student's display.

Back with Kirito, the teen let out a breath and turned to Bercouli and Eugeo, glancing at Eugeo who was standing some distance away from their teacher.

The brothers-in-all-but-blood nodded lightly at each other and broke into a sprint, running towards each other.

Bercouli easily noticed that and smirked, 'I guess I'll play for just a little more.'

The man swiftly stood between the two boys, blocking them from meeting as he brought up his sword at Kirito.

Kirito grunted and swung the blue blade at his master, Bercouli blocking it with his own sword. Eugeo did the same with his own, but Bercouli merely blocked it with his own gauntlet.

The reason why Bercouli used his sword to block Kirito's slash while using his gauntlet for Eugeo, it was because the Blue Rose Sword was more than capable of cutting through his armor, and only by infusing his sword with mana, could it stand up to the blue sword.

Back to the fight, Bercouli grinned and pushed Eugeo's blade aside before kicking Kirito in the chest.

Then, the man turned to block a slash from Eugeo. Bercouli was the caught off guard when Eugeo pulled back, causing him to lurch forward before Eugeo managed to land a hard slap kick on his cheek, sending him sprawling to the ground.

As he fell, Bercouli had to hand it to Eugeo. The kid was smart enough to pull back and land a counter kick to his face.

He then felt Eugeo leaping over him, and he decided to just let the game end as he laid on the ground for a little more.

With Kirito and Eugeo, the blonde was rather surprised that he had actually landed the hit on his teacher, and even more for the fact that he had actually reached Kirito.

Kirito let out a breath as he handed the Blue Rose Sword to his friend, and the two looked at Bercouli who slowly stood up.

The man chuckled as he saw Eugeo holding the blue sword, "Not bad, well done."

Bercouli walked over to them and looked at Eugeo, "That sword is yours from now on, take good care of it."

Eugeo blinked several times before he gaped, "R-really?!"

The knight nodded, "Yeah, the two of you are going to the academy, right? You need swords if you wanna go."

Bercouli then turned to Kirito, "As for you..."

He gestured to the fallen Gigas Cedar, "This will be your sword."

Kirito blinked, "Wait, what?"

Bercouli chuckled and walked over to the tip of the tree, and with one swift swing, he cut off the top part of the tree.

The man then walked back to Kirito and handed the wood to the teen along with a piece of paper, "Go to this address, this here can be formed into a divine class weapon, similar to the Blue Rose Sword Eugeo has, and similar to my own. The blacksmith there is a good one, and he can forge you a sword that can last you for your whole life."

Kirito just gaped at the piece of wood in his hands, rather surprised that the Gigas Cedar had been a divine class object.

Bercouli then looked at both teens, "Now that we've done all that, I suppose its time I told you two everything."

The man then sat down on the grass, gesturing his students to do the same.

As they sat down, Kirito asked, "Sensei, you're the Integrity Knight we met all those years ago, right?"

Bercouli smiled dryly, "Yeah, I am."

Eugeo asked, reminding himself to stay calm, "Why did you train us?"

Bercouli nodded, "I'll get to that later... I suppose I'll start after Alice was brought to the church."

The man took a breath and spoke, "This is supposed to classified info, but at that time, I was on a mission to guard the borders and take out a whole squad of forces from the Dark Territory. I managed to take all of them all out and rushed back to the church."

Bercouli looked at the boys, "I managed to stop the pope from punishing Alice, and unfortunately, we couldn't let her go, so she was given a job in the church."

He paused before he continued, chuckling as he did, "The little girl, even when her life was in danger, she pleaded me to check on the two of you, and I did."

Bercouli grinned, "And imagine, coming to the forest, to see two young boys, swinging two wooden handmade swords. Well, I was gonna just take a look and report back to her, but the two of you showed great potential, and I couldn't pass up on the chance. And the rest, well, you know. "

Kirito and Eugeo both stayed silent for a short while, before Kirito asked, "How's Alice?"

Bercouli smiled, "She's doing great, and she's waiting for the two of you."

Kirito nodded, "I see..."

Eugeo then asked, "Can you bring us to see her?"

Bercouli grinned and shook his head, "No, I've meddled here long enough. That'll have to depend on you two."

He smirked at them, "Besides, you're aiming for the academy, right? Once you become knights, I'll take the two of you under my wing, and then you can see her everyday."

Bercouli then got up, "Well, my job is done for now. Take these, they're recommendation letters so you can take the test to enter the academy."

He tossed the two boys each an envelope, Kirito and Eugeo catching them easily.

Bercouli then turned and picked up his sword, "The battles with the Dark Territory will be starting again, so this will probably be the last time I'll be seeing you two in a while now. But don't worry, I'll be keeping track of your progress."

Kirito and Eugeo both stood up, the former nodded, "I see..."

Bercouli nodded, "Yeah..."

Kirito then asked, "By the way, sensei, I never did ask you, what is the name of our style?"

Bercouli blinked several times before he answered, "Truth to be told, the skills I taught you are all things I picked up throughout my years as a knight, combinations of skills from many different styles I suppose."

He grinned, "But, well, if you really want a name for it, I guess it'd be called the Aincrad style."

Eugeo muttered the name, "The Aincrad style."

Kirito nodded, but before he could say anything, he felt a light pulse in his temples, as random flashes of images ran through his head.

First was a huge kobold, then a weird minotaur looking creature, then a huge skeleton with scythes in front, and finally a huge white humanoid creature roaring.

The teen blinked as all of those images vanished in the next second, and he couldn't recall any of it. Kirito frowned, 'W-what was that?'

He was broken out of his musings as Bercouli spoke again, "Well, I'm sure you'll ace the exams anyways, so, I'll be going now."

Deciding to file those images for later, Kirito and Eugeo then shared a glance, before they bowed and spoke in unison, "Thank you for everything you've done, Bercouli-sensei!"

The man chuckled with a smirk, "Sure, just make sure to graduate, Alice and I, we'll be waiting for you."

Bercouli then walked away, slowly vanishing between the trees.

After a short while, Kirito and Eugeo rose from the bow before they headed back to the village, intent on reporting that they had finished their task.

(linebreak)

A while later with Bercouli, he rode on Hoshigami, landing on the platform on the 30th floor of the Central Cathedral.

The man easily got off his dragon, allowing the dragon to fly off to where he usually went, before Bercouli headed inside.

As soon as the man entered the tower, he was met with a young girl, with blonde hair, wearing golden armor, with a blue cape along with a white and blue skirt.

The girl's face visibly lit up as soon as she saw Bercouli, and the girl asked almost immediately, "Ojii-sama, how did they do?"

Bercouli chuckled, "They did great, now we just have to wait for them to graduate."

The girl let out a breath in relief, a smile appearing on her face. The girl then quickly realized who and how she was talking to and straightened up before bowing slightly, "Thank you very much, Ojii-sama. I'll be heading back to my post."

The girl quickly turned and left, heading for the stairs, before Bercouli could say anything.

As the girl left, Bercouli chuckled, 'She never changes, does she...'

The oldest Integrity Knight was very glad he had managed to take her under his wing. God knows what would have happened to her if she had been taken by the pope.

It was also quite heartwarming for him to see the girl with such emotions, especially when it came to Kirito and Eugeo. It showed just how much the girl cared for them.

Though there was one thing that ticked him off. Even after all these years, after he had managed to get her to call him Ojii-sama, Alice still acted formally around him during workinh hours, even when he insisted she didn't need to.

Bercouli shook his head lightly and chuckled again before he headed for his office.

As the man walked, he spotted his second in command and greeted her, "Hey, Fanatio."

The woman's face visibly brightened up as she saw him, "Bercouli-sama."

The oldest knight nodded to the woman and asked, "No shifts?"

The second Integrity Knight shook her head, "Not today."

She then asked, "So, you finished your final test for your students, right?"

Bercouli nodded, "Yeah."

Fanatio smiled, "How did they do?"

The man chuckled, "They did great. Now they just need to graduate the academy."

The woman nodded before she asked, "Why not just bring them here? You did the same with Alice..."

Bercouli walked to one of the windows, looking over the entire capital, "They are young. Alice was a special case, if I didn't take her in, she would have fallen into Chudelkin's hands, and gods forbid what would happen if a young girl with a high aptitude for the arts like her reached his hands."

The man took a breath, "No. Alice is a special case. But those boys, they are pure, so innocent. The whole reason they even trained is because they wanted to meet Alice again."

Bercouli chuckled, "Or rather, they thought Alice would be punished, and they wanted to save her, even after all these years..."

The man continued, "Rather than pulling them into this mess, I want them to at least live peacefully for two more years before they graduate."

Fanatio nodded, "I see... But I still don't understand, why not just tell them Alice is one of us now?"

Bercouli grinned, "Then they wouldn't have the drive to improve. Kirito and Eugeo, those boys would do anything for a friend or family. Sure, they would still train so that they can stand beside Alice. But the drive won't be there, or at least, not as great, and their progress would be much slower than what they have now. "

Fanatio nodded, "I see..."

The woman then looked at her predecessor, "Do you really think they can help us?"

Bercouli smirked, "Now? Possibly. In their prime, most definitely. Especially if Kirito is what I think he is."

(linebreak)

Later in the evening, back in the village of Rulid. After Bercouli had left, Kirito and Eugeo had headed straight for Gasupht to report that they had finished their task.

The man had nearly dropped his cup of coffee in shock before he quickly followed the boys to the Gigas Cedar, and to his surprise, the massive tree had fallen.

Gasupht didn't know how the two teens did it. It was predicted that the tree would stand tall for at least another ten years, even if someone hacked at it every day and night.

Yet these two boys had done it, they did the impossible.

And now, to celebrate Kirito and Eugeo's accomplishment at cutting down the tree, the entire village was having a party.

Now, everyone was in the village square. Tables were set up, with trays on top all filled with food, and everyone was enjoying the food, taking the chance to rest and have fun.

With Kirito and Eugeo, the two of them were constantly patted on the back by the adults, congratulating the two boys for finishing the infamous tasks in their teens.

Seeing everyone in such high spirits, just because they had managed to cut down that tree, showed them just how much, how hard, and how long it had taken them to make the dent in the tree, and seeing it cut down after all that time filled the villagers, especially the elderly, with joy.

Soon, the pats and congratulations stopped, as everyone went to enjoy the food, allowing the two teens to get some time for themselves.

As Kirito and Eugeo leaned on one of the fences at the edge of the village square, both holding a bowl as they ate their portion of the food.

As they ate, Selka approached them with a smile, "Kirito-san, Eugeo-san."

Kirito swallowed the food and grinned, "Hey, Selka."

Eugeo just placed his spoon into the bowl and waved as his mouth was still full with food. Kirito then asked, "What's up?"

The young girl smiled, "Well, I didn't get to say it just now, but congratulations!"

Kirito chuckled and nodded, "Thanks."

Eugeo swallowed the food and nodded, "Yeah, thank you, Selka."

Selka giggled before she asked, "So, what are you two gonna do now?"

Kirito glanced at Eugeo, whose free arm rested on the Blue Rose Sword at his waist. The teens shared a glance and grinned, before Eugeo said, "Well, you'll just have to wait and see."

Kirito grinned and nodded, "Yeah, Gasupht-jiisan will have us announce it later anyways."

Selka just pouted, "Fine, be that way..."

Kirito and Eugeo chuckled.

Before they could continue, their attention was brought towards the stage at the center back of the village square, where Gasupht stood.

The crowd quickly quiet down as the village chief spoke, "Thank you. Now, I'm pretty sure everyone here enjoyed yourselves, right?"

The villagers all agreed. Gasupht nodded, "I'm pretty sure everyone knows this, earlier today, two young men, managed to complete the task that has been plaguing our village was decades."

The chief stared straight at the two teens, "Kirito and Eugeo! Get up here!"

The two sent Selka an apologetic glance as they quickly got on the stage, the villagers clapping as they did so.

Gasupht smiled slightly as Kirito and Eugeo stood beside him. The chief cleared his throat, silencing the crowd again, "Now, as per the rules, after anyone completes their first calling, they will be given the choice of choosing their next calling."

Gasupht turned to the teens, "So, Kirito, Eugeo, what are your next callings?"

Kirito and Eugeo shared a grin, the latter gripping the hilt of the Blue Rose Sword, and they nodded, before they said in unison, "We'll be heading for Centoria, and we'll be entering the Sword Mastery Academy."

As soon as those words left their mouths, the crowd erupted into cheers. To them, it wasn't everyday someone got to finish their original task, and these teens were going big. And most of the villagers were proud of them.

To Gasupht and Sadina, the announcement surprised them a bit, more so the man than the woman. They quickly realized what the teens were doing, and they were grateful and proud of them for that. But at the same time, they also felt guilty, as they knew the boys were doing all this for their eldest daughter.

But even as everyone cheered, among the crowd, only one young girl wasn't smiling.

(linebreak)

A while later, at night, the party had quickly ended, and everyone had finished cleaning up before they headed back to their own homes.

As the villagers left the square, soon, only Gasupht, Sadina, Selka, Kirito and Eugeo remained.

Gasupht smiled and patted Kirito on the back, "Well done, boys. I never expected you two to complete that in such a short amount of time. Though I wanted either of you to take on my mantle as village chief, striving to be a knight is very good."

Sadina shook her head with a smile and poked the man at his sides, earning a yelp from the man, causing the teens to sweatdrop.

The woman easily ignored her husband's yelps and asked, "So, when are you two leaving?"

Eugeo nodded, "Probably tomorrow, or at least within the week, the next entry test is next month, and it'll take a week to get there, plus we still need to register, and that'll probably take a week in itself."

Sadina nodded, "Yes, and you also need to find a place to stay."

Kirito shook his head, "Just before we do the test. Students from abroad are allowed to stay in the dorms, from what I've heard."

The woman frowned slightly, "Still, it'd be safer to find a place to stay first. Our village can sponsor your trip for the first month, right?"

Sadina looked at Gasupht at that last part, and the man looked like he wanted to disagree, but one subtle pinch and one look that said 'You'll-be-sleeping-on-the-couch-if-you-say-no', the village chief quickly nodded with a strained smile, "O-of course. It should be okay to provide funds for the first few weeks, months even. The two of you are the first ones to ever enter the academy after all."

Kirito and Eugeo both smiled forcefully, the former nodding, "T-thanks, Gasupht-jiisan."

Sadina let go of her husband, allowing the man to let out a breath. The man then asked, "Anyways, just out of curiosity, how did you two do it?"

Sadina nodded, "Yes, I would also like to know."

Kirito looked at Eugeo, and the black haired teen asked, "You wanna show em?"

The blonde shook his head, handing the Blue Rose Sword to Kirito, "Nah, you cut it down, you show them."

Kirito sighed and took the sword, "Fine."

He then walked away, putting some distance between him and the others, "This is something we've been practicing for a while."

Kirito took a stance, the starting stance for the sword skill 'Slant', otherwise known as the Zakkalight Style: Aoi Kazekiri, or simply 'Azure Wind Slash'.

The teen let out a breath as he let the mana from his body flow into the sword, causing it to glow light blue.

As the sword glowed, Gasupht, Sadina and Selka's eyes widened, easily recognising the tell-tale light effect of the sword skill.

Kirito then announced quietly, "Aincrad-ryu, Slant!"

He swung the blade, leaving a visible streak of light that quickly faded, like the glow on the sword, as Kirito relaxed from the stance.

As he walked back, Gasupht stuttered, "T-that was a sword skill!"

Kirito and Eugeo nodded as if it was nothing. Sadina asked, rather surprised, "Where did you learn that from?"

Kirito grinned, "From a knight."

Eugeo nodded, grinning as well, "Apparently he saw us swinging wooden swords in the forest once and decided to train us on a whim."

Not exactly the truth, but they didn't want to reveal too much just yet.

Gasupht nodded, "I, I see."

The man realized, Kirito and Eugeo may have just become two of the most dangerous men in their village. The village chief then cleared his throat, "Ermm, it's getting pretty late, I guess we should all head home now."

Sadina nodded, shaking off her shock as she smiled, "Yes, you two have a big day coming."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded with a smile, but just as they were about to head home, Selka spoke up, "Mom, Dad, do you mind if you two head home first? I want to talk to them a little bit."

Gasupht was about to say something when Sadina quickly cut in, "Sure, just make sure not to take too long, okay?"

Selka nodded gratefully as her mother pushed her father away towards their house, whispering harshly to the man as they left.

After a short while, Kirito asked, "So, what's up?"

The girl looked down, not meeting their eyes, before she asked, "Is it for my sister?"

Kirito and Eugeo blinked, glancing at each other. The blonde teen asked, "Selka, what are you talking about?"

The girl clenched her fists, glaring up at the two older boys, "Don't lie to me! You two want to be knights, so you can go to the Central Cathedral and find my sister, am I right?!"

Selka's knuckles turned white, tears threatening to fall as she glared at the Kirito and Eugeo.

Kirito immediately understood why Selka was acting like this, and as Eugeo started to say something, Kirito cut in, "That's where you're wrong, Selka."

He sent Eugeo a glance, telling him to let him handle this, and the blonde relented, allowing Kirito to continue, "I won't lie, Alice getting sent to the church did play a role in it, but I've always wanted to be be a knight from the start."

He took a breath, "In the beginning, it was just a pipe dream, with the Gigas Cedar and all. At that time, it wasn't important if we could enter the academy or not."

Kirito smiled slightly, "But then Alice got sent away, and Eugeo and I met our teacher, and everything started to progress. Of course, we will be getting your sister back."

Kirito then looked at Selka right in the eye, "But, the original intent, the real reason why we want to become knights, is still the same. Do you know what that is?"

The girl tried to glare, but with the soft tone Kirito was using, it was hard for her to stay mad. The girl clenched her fists, forcing herself from crying, "W-what is that reason?"

Kirito smiled, "To protect you. To protect your parents, to protect everyone else in this village, our family."

Selka's anger started to fade, replaced by embarrassment instead, as she blushed slightly, "W-what?"

The teen nodded, "If all we wanted to do was get Alice back, then there are better and other ways to do it. But our original intent was to become knights, getting Alice back is just another reason we have to succeed."

Kirito patted her head, "So don't worry about all that, we'll definitely come back, and we'll be bringing your sister along with us."

Eugeo nodded, deciding to pipe in, "Yeah, Selka, don't worry too much, everything will turn out fine. It won't take long too, maybe a year or two, but we'll definitely come back."

Kirito nodded, smiling, "Yeah, what he said."

Selka closed her eyes, holding back the tears, 'That's not fair, Kirito-san, Eugeo-san...'

The girl took a breath and look at them, "Fine, but you better swear you'll come back, okay?"

Eugeo grinned, "You got it!"

Kirito nodded, before taking his hand off of Selka's head, "Yeah."

Selka forced a smile and turned, "Sorry for that, Kirito-san, Eugeo-san, I'll be going home then."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, waving as the girl quickly walked away. Kirito then looked at his brother in all but blood, "Let's head back too, we need to prepare for our trip tomorrow."

Eugeo nodded as they headed for their house, chatting idly as they did so.

(linebreak)

With Selka, the girl entered the house, and Gasupht was about to greet her but the girl just headed straight for her room and closed the door.

The man looked at his wife, "What's up with her?"

Sadina sighed, having an idea what happened, "I'll go talk to her."

The woman went to Selka's door and knocked, "Selka?"

The girl's voice came at her, "Go away, just leave me alone."

Sadina tried to open the door, but found it was locked. The woman sighed, before she turned and walked to her husband.

Gasupht asked, "What's wrong?"

Sadina shook her head, "I think I know, but its better to just leave it for tomorrow."

The man glanced at Selka's room, "You sure?"

Sadina nodded, "Yes, now let's go to bed."

Gasupht sighed and nodded, joining his wife as they headed to bed.

With Selka, the girl sat on her bed, gripping her bed sheets tightly, as tears dropped onto her dress, 'It's not fair!'

The girl silently sobbed. She hated that Kirito and Eugeo would do so much just for her sister, and she hated herself more for thinking like that.

Selka knew Alice could only be with one of them, and she herself could only choose one, so she had told herself it would turn out fine. But it hurt so much, to know that they would go so far just for Alice.

Soon, the girl forced herself to stop crying, silently telling herself to hold back those feelings, as it was going to be a big day for Kirito and Eugeo the next day, or days.

With those thoughts in mind, the girl quickly washed herself before heading for bed.

XXX

Done! So, a small Selka moment at the end there. I originally had planned to just have Kirito and Eugeo announce their plans, add some small talks before ending it.

But then I realised, Selka's feelings were not expanded much in canon. In canon, she didn't have that much of a romantic relationship with Kirito or Eugeo, but she was always compared to Alice, and in canon, she hadn't even met her until two years after the death of Quinella.

That's why I thought, why not add that last part, to further show what she's feeling, and how her character develops.

So yeah, this marks the end of the first part of the Underworld arc. Just a note, I'm following the order of events of the Alicization arc, but making changes to it as I go.

In fact, the academy sub-arc will most probably be almost the same as canon, except with a few changed here and there.

Oh, and I know I said this chapter will be where Kirito and Eugeo head to the academy. But as I wrote, I found that I couldn't fit all of that into one chapter, so it'll be in the next one, sorry for that.

So yeah, review please. Until next time.


	62. Chapter 62

Hey, this is the 62nd chapter.

I was actually hoping to finish this chapter earlier, like, a week ago. But sem break was over, and I had to start classes again, so everything got pushed back a lot.

But I managed to get it done, so weeeeeeee.

Anyways, to **Guest's** question, how much time is passing in the Elemental Nations. That is a very good question. Well for now, next to no time is passing in the Elemental Nations. It will be explained further when the Underworld connects to the Elemental Nations, which will not be as soon as I planned it to be, sadly.

So yeah, here's the new chapter.

XXX

Kirito was falling.

No, that wasn't the correct word. More like he was floating.

The teen wasn't sure where he was, but everything felt wrong. He looked around. He could see his hands, his legs, his own body. But that was it. Everything was black.

Then he heard a voice, a female, flickering in and out, "K...to... K... to..."

Kirito blinked and asked, "Who are you?"

The voice seemed to cut in and out, "H..lp...me... Ch...el...n..."

Kirito furrowed his brows, "What are you saying?"

The voice started to say something, but he couldn't make out any of the words, and he blacked out.

(linebreak)

Two days later, Kirito and Eugeo had quickly packed everything they needed, and right now, they were finishing their preparations to leave the village for the capital.

Yesterday, the two boys had visited Selka to make sure she was fine, and while she smiled and told them she was fine, Kirito and Eugeo knew the girl was not, though they didn't say anything.

They also spent the day visiting everyone else, helping out with the other villagers' work since they had nothing to do. And in the evening, they started to pack whatever they needed.

As Kirito placed a set of clothes into his bag, his mind went to the dream he had two days ago. The voice was familiar, but he couldn't remember who it belonged to.

He had told Eugeo about it, but the blonde just told him it was probably just a random dream and that he shouldn't worry much about it. But Kirito just couldn't forget about the dream.

Sighing, the teen decided to push it to the back of his mind, he needed to focus on the test and entering the academy.

The teen let out a breath as he focused on packing everything he needed, grabbing the tip of the Gigas Cedar and wrapped it with a large piece of cloth.

After they had visited Selka, Kirito had told Gasupht about the tip of the tree, and had asked the chief if he could take it, even though Bercouli had given it to him.

The chief had looked at the teen weirdly, questioning Kirito as to why he wanted the tip, and the teen decided to explain it to him.

After a short explanation, the chief decided to just let the teen keep the tip. He had absolutely no idea what to do with the tree except use it as material for other stuff, and he doubt anyone had any use for the tip of the tree.

Back to Kirito, he zipped and closed his bag, putting it to a side before he looked over everything he needed, and anything he didn't need.

Nodding in satisfaction, Kirito grabbed his bags and went outside, where Eugeo was already waiting, the Blue Rose Sword wrapped in cloth and strapped to his back.

The blonde smiled at him, "You ready?"

The black haired teen grinned, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Eugeo grinned, grabbing his bags, which Kirito followed, before they left the house. The two teens locked the door and looked at their small house.

Kirito commented, "Really gonna miss this place."

Eugeo chuckled, "Hey, it'll only be a few years, we'll come back, eventually."

The black haired teen nodded, "Yeah, let's go, everyone's waiting."

The blonde nodded as they headed for the entrance of the village.

As they walked, a short distance from their house, the teens spotted Gasupht, Sadina, Selka and almost all of the villagers waiting for them.

The gate keeper smirked, "Bout time you boys got here."

Eugeo blinked, "What're you guys all doing here?"

Gasupht chuckled, "To see you two off, what else?"

A random woman from the crowd nodded, "Of course, after all these years, the two of you are the first ones to leave the village to become knights, the two of you will be representing our village."

Everyone nodded, voicing their agreement. Kirito and Eugeo just smiled sheepishly. Gasupht chuckled and said, "Okay, I believe its time we send these boys off."

The villagers all nodded in agreement before they all headed for the entrance.

Kirito and Eugeo turned to look at the villagers one last time.

Sadina smiled, "Good luck boys, do come back when you graduate."

Kirito grinned, "Yeah, don't worry, we'll definitely come back."

The black haired teen looked at Gasupht, Sadina and Selka particularly. He didn't need to say it, but they got the message. Kirito and Eugeo were gonna bring Alice back.

Then, one of the other villagers, a woman who was a baker, came forward and handed Eugeo a small paper bag, filled with freshly baked bread, "Here, for when you two get hungry on your trip."

Eugeo smiled, "Thank you very much."

The woman smiled and stepped back into the crowd, before Gasupht handed Kirito a small bag of money, "Here, hopefully this will last you for a little while, good luck."

Kirito took the bag from the chief's hands and nodded. Gasupht glanced at Eugeo briefly, and the blonde nodded back.

Kirito then looked at Selka. The girl had been rather quiet the past two days whenever they met up, and Kirito was pretty sure she still slightly upset about them leaving.

The teen walked over to the girl and gently patted her head, "We'll definitely come back together, okay?"

Selka's gaze softened, and she smiled slightly, "Yeah, stay safe."

Kirito grinned and stood by Eugeo's side. The blonde nodded to his friend and looked at the crowd, "Thank you very much, everyone, but I think we should get going now."

Gasupht nodded, "Very well, have a safe journey."

Everyone nodded, saying their part, before Kirito and Eugeo both turned, walking away from the village.

After watching the two figures disappear, the crowd dispersed, returning to their respective routines.

(linebreak)

A few days later, Kirito and Eugeo finally arrived at North Centoria. Kirito grinned as they walked along the streets, "So this is North Centoria, this is amazing!"

Eugeo nodded as he looked around the place, "Yeah."

The blonde then asked, "So, what now?"

Kirito glanced at the wrapped tip of the Gigas Cedar and said, "We go look for that blacksmith Bercouli-sensei told us about."

Kirito then brought out his envelope Bercouli gave them. The envelope was a recommendation letter for Kirito and Eugeo to take the entrance exam.

Normally, a non-noble would need a recommendation letter from an official guard, which in turn required six months of service.

But fortunately for the teens, Bercouli was their teacher, and using his fake alias, which he normally used when on undercover missions, the Integrity Knight gave them each a letter.

Back to Kirito, the teen opened the envelope and took out the slip that had the address Bercouli gave him. The teen had decided to just put the slip in the envelope to be safe, and to make sure he didn't lose it.

Kirito carefully placed the envelope into his bag and looked at the slip before looking at the sign boards, "Come on."

Eugeo followed the black haired teen as they started walking around the area looking for the blacksmith.

(linebreak)

About half an hour later, the two teens ended up standing in the middle of a crossroads, again.

Eugeo had a tired and exasperated expression on his face. The blonde truly had no idea if he should be amused or annoyed.

The reason?

Kirito had insisted they find the blacksmith without help from the locals, relying on the sign boards and the address they had.

And somehow, they had not only managed to not find the place, but they had also got lost, and had been spinning in circles for 30 minutes.

Eugeo asked, "So, Kirito, do you even know where we are?"

The teen smiled forcefully, staring at the address he had and the sign board in front of him, "I-I'm pretty sure its this way(?)"

Eugeo wanted to sigh, but before he could say anything, a rather familiar voice reached their ears, "Its been a while, Kirito, Eugeo!"

The two boys looked at the direction of a voice and saw a girl their age, with an energetic grin looking at them.

The girl had long dark purple hair, wearing a red headband. She also wore a dark purple shirt with long tight pants.

Eugeo blinked, "Ermm, sorry, who are you?"

The girl pouted and folded her arms, "Seriously, you forgot about me?"

Kirito blinked, before it clicked, "Wait, Yuuki?!"

The girl grinned, "Yeap!"

Eugeo blinked, staring at Yuuki, "Wow, you've changed a lot!"

Yuuki chuckled, "Well, kinda, can't say the same about you two though..."

The girl briefly looked over the teens, "You haven't changed a bit, both of you."

Kirito and Eugeo just smiled, not knowing how to respond. Yuuki then asked, "So, what are you doing?"

Kirito smiled sheepishly, "Well, we were looking for this shop, but we just can't find it."

Yuuki blinked several times, before she grinned, "So you're lost."

Kirito opened his mouth, wanting to deny it, before he closed it and nodded, hanging his head down, "Y-yeah... We're lost."

The girl giggled before she said, "Okay, I'll just have to show you the way then."

Eugeo smiled and nodded, "That'd be appreciated."

Yuuki grinned before she asked, "So, where are you headed anyway?"

Kirito handed her the address he had and after briefly looking at it, Yuuki nodded and grinned at Kirito, "I know just where it is."

The girl walked past them towards one of the streets, "Come on."

Kirito and Eugeo both grabbed their bags and quickly followed after the girl.

As they walked, Eugeo asked, "So, Yuuki, what are you doing here? I mean, your village isn't near here, right?"

Yuuki grinned, "Hehe, I'm joining the Sword Mastery Academy."

Kirito blinked, "Wait, you too?!"

The girl nodded as she turned, walking backwards so she could look at them, "Yep, you're joining as well, right?"

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, the latter said, "Yeah, that's why we're heading for the blacksmith, to get Kirito a sword."

Yuuki nodded before she grinned, "So that means Eugeo has a sword, right?"

The two boys blinked before Eugeo nodded, "Y-yeah, I got it from Bercouli-sensei."

Yuuki nodded as she turned to face the front, "Okay, you'll have to show me later. We're here."

The three stopped in front of a rather small shop, at least, when compared to all the other shops around them. Kirito and Eugeo looked up, noticing a sign that said, 'Sadore's Smithy'.

The girl opened the door, beckoning her friends to follow her. The two shared a glance before they followed her in, entering the shop.

They were met with the sight of a rather spacious place. Everywhere they looked, there were swords of all kinds, shields, armory and anything you'd want for a knight. In fact, the shop alone could arm a full squadron of knights.

The two teens were broken out of their musings when a middle aged man walked out from the back through a door, standing behind the counter.

Yuuki smiled and greeted, "Hey, Sadore-jiichan!"

The man smiled kindly, "Hello, Yuuki, what brings you here?"

The girl pointed her thumb towards Kirito, "He needs a sword."

Sadore's turned to Kirito, briefly looking over the teen, and for a brief moment, Kirito felt rather vulnerable, suddenly wanting to cover himself up.

The man nodded to himself before he asked, "So, boy, what kind of sword do you want?"

Sadore gestured to the rack of blades at the right of his shop, "You can pick one from that rack, or are you looking for one custom made?"

Kirito glanced at the rack before he turned to the man, "Ermm, actually..."

The black haired teen put down his bags, bringing out the tip of the Gigas Cedar, uncovering it before showing it to Sadore, "My teacher told me you could forge a blade out of this."

Sadore's eyes widened in surprise, before his eyes snapped to Kirito, "You're Bercouli's student, aren't ya?"

Kirito nodded, and Sadore glanced at Eugeo, "And you're his other student."

The blonde nodded, "Y-yes sir."

Sadore nodded before he brought up the branch, examining it briefly. He then placed it on his desk and nodded, "Very well, Bercouli told me about the two of you. What're your names, boys?"

Kirito blinked before he quickly answered, "Kirito, sir."

Eugeo did the same, "I'm Eugeo, sir."

Sadore nodded, "Kirito and Eugeo, eh? Nice to meet'cha, and drop the sir, makes me feel older than I already am. And shut it, girl."

Yuuki stiffled a giggle, raising her arms in a surrendering manner.

Sadore then let out a breath, "Okay. The entrance test should be in about a month or two. Come back here in a month, I'll forge you a blade that can last you for ages."

A smile broke onto Kirito's face, "Y-you're serious?"

Sadore grinned, "As serious as a heart attack. Its been a while since I got something like this."

Kirito bowed his head slightly, "Thank you very much."

The blacksmith chuckled and waved it off, "Its fine..."

Eugeo nodded, "Thank you, Sadore-san. By the way, do you know of any inns we can stay in?"

Yuuki piped in, "Actually, you two can stay in my place, I have two spare rooms, and my mom'll be coming next week, but I don't she'd mind."

Kirito and Eugeo wanted to protest, not wanting to impose on the girl, but a quick glare from her stopped them from saying anything.

Sadore chuckled, "Actually, there's no need for that, nor do you two need to look for inns."

The three looked at the blacksmith confused, before Sadore tossed Kirito a set of keys, sliding a piece of paper onto the desk, "Bercouli already thought of all that, and apparently, prepared a small apartment for the two of you."

Eugeo picked up the piece of paper, and Kirito and Yuuki looked at it from behind it.

The girl blinked, "Hey, this is just opposite of my place!"

Eugeo blinked, "Wow, what a coincidence..."

Sadore chuckled knowingly, "A coincidence, yes."

Inside, the man thought, 'More like Bercouli and Rinko arranged that...'

Kirito let out a quiet sigh before he looked at the older man, "So, you'll handle the sword, right?"

The blacksmith chuckled and nodded, "Of course, come back here in about a month, and I'll have you your sword."

Yuuki then asked, "So, that's it?"

Sadore scratched his chin before he reached under his desk and took out a poster, tossing it to Eugeo, "I just remembered. The exam is in about a month, so you'll have plenty of time. Try entering this competition, it should help brush up your skills."

Kirito and Eugeo both looked at the poster, while Yuuki peeked from behind both of them, reading the details of the tournament.

Kirito looked back at the man, "Thank you very much, Sadore-san."

The old man waved it off, "Sure, sure... Now get out and go register for the tournament, I need to start working on the sword."

Yuuki sweatdropped as Sadore just turned, grabbing the tip of the Gigas Cedar before heading back to the back of his shop, where his forge was.

Kirito and Eugeo both also blinked, not sure how to react to Sadore's blunt words. The girl shook her head with a sigh before she said, drawing Kirito and Eugeo's attention, "Come on, I'll show you where the place is, then I can show you around."

Kirito chuckled, "Like old times?"

Yuuki blinked, before a nostalgic smile appeared on her face, "Well, that was one time... But yeah, like old times."

Kirito grinned, "You wouldn't happen to have a favourite place here too, do you?"

Yuuki just smiled, "Unfortunately, not yet."

Eugeo laughed lightly as they started moving, "You two sound like two old people meeting after decades."

Kirito glared at the blonde lightly, "Hey, we are meeting up after about 10 years of not seeing each other, right?"

Eugeo chuckled and nodded, "True, true..."

Yuuki just giggled at that exchange before Eugeo asked, "So... You're not here alone, are you?"

The girl blinked before she laughed, "No, of course not!"

Yuuki grinned as they walked, "Well, after meeting you two, I tried going to the playground, and I found some friends who also wanted to become knights."

Eugeo smiled softly, "So they're here too?"

The girl nodded enthusiastically, "Yep! I'll introduce you after we get your stuff settled first."

Kirito chuckled, "Sure."

After a short walk, the three reached a small apartment building, and Yuuki lead them to their floor, and she pointed to one of the doors, "That should be yours..."

The girl then pointed to the one opposite of the door, "And that's mine."

Yuuki went to her door and opened it, "Well, I'm going inside for a little bit, call me if you need anything or when you're done, kay?"

Kirito and Eugeo only nodded as the girl shut the door, leaving the two teens as Kirito opened the door with the set of keys they had.

The two entered the apartment, closing the door behind them as they examined the place.

While small, the apartment was rather spacious for two people. It had a small living room, with a sofa and a small table, a small kitchen with a larger table and four chairs. It also had a toilet with two bedrooms.

Kirito commented as he set his bags down, "Not a bad place, right?"

Eugeo nodded as he placed his bags on the ground, walking around the apartment, "Yeah..."

Kirito took a brief stretch before he said, "Okay, let's start unpacking then."

(linebreak)

After roughly 30 minutes, Yuuki had finished cleaning up and decided to check on her two friends. The girl knocked on the door lightly and saif loudly, "Guys, its me!"

Kirito's voice came out from behind the door after a short moment, "Got it! Just wait a sec!"

Shortly after, the door opened, revealing Kirito at the door, while Eugeo sat on the couch behind him.

Kirito let the girl come in as she asked, "So, how is it? I mean, for the two of you, this place seems pretty neat."

Eugeo replied from the sofa, "Well, its enough for us, I mean, it's a place to stay until we get our dorms in the academy."

Yuuki nodded, "True..."

The girl then asked, "So, you guys done? My friends are waiting at a cafe nearby."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, pretty much."

Eugeo nodded, "Yep, we don't have too many things, other than our clothes and some other stuff... Let's go then."

The three then exited the apartment, not before locking the apartment of course, as they headed for one of the cafes near the streets.

Yuuki opened the door, walking in, followed by Kirito and Eugeo, before a voice caught their attention," Hey, Yuuki! Over here!"

The three looked over to one of the larger tables for ten people, where five people sat, with five empty chairs.

Yuuki looked at Kirito and Eugeo with a grin, "Come on."

The girl pulled the two young men over to the table and said, "Guys, this is Kirito and Eugeo."

One of the three males, a rather tall young man smiled, "Nice to meet ya, I'm Tecchi."

The other boy spoke up with a smile, "I'm Jun, Yuuki has told us about you."

The last boy, one wearing glasses, said, bowing his head slightly, "I'm Talken, nice to meet ya."

A girl with light long blue hair smiled, "My name is Siune, its nice to finally meet you, Kirito, Eugeo."

The last person, a girl with black hair grinned, "I know right. I'm Nori, and you didn't tell us they were quite hot, Yuuki! You've been holding out on us!"

Yuuki just scratched the back her head with a sheepish smile, while Kirito and Eugeo just sweatdropped watching the scene. Though, it was pretty heartwarming to know that Yuuki had a bunch of friends after so long.

Kirito then asked, breaking the moment, "By the way, you're all entering the academy, yes?"

Jun grinned, "Yep! The two of you are joining too, right? Yuuki used to tell us about you two planning to join the academy."

Yuuki just grinned for a short moment before she asked Kirito and Eugeo, "Oh, and there's the tournament coming up, right? Are you two joining?"

Kirito and Eugeo shared a glance, and the former nodded, "Yeah, kinda... I mean apart from our teacher, we didn't really have a way to measure our skills."

Eugeo nodded, "Yep, so we'll most probably be joining it."

Tecchi piped in, "What is this tournament?"

Kirito took out the poster he had in his pocket, having not taken it out earlier, and handed it to the taller man, "Here, apparently its a tournament where participants fight in a solo match. The winner, if you don't already have some way to enter the academy, gets the right the enter the academy. And if not, you get a money prize."

Tecchi glanced over the poster before he asked, a grin on his face, "Kirito, Eugeo, you're both entering, right?"

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, the latter replying, "Yep."

Nori caught on to what Tecchi was planning and grinned, "Then, I wanna see how good you are, Kirito, Eugeo."

Tecchi nodded, "Same here, I'm rather curious to how strong the two of you are."

Yuuki grinned, piping in, "Oh you're on! Its a solo type tournament, right?"

Nori looked at the poster and nodded, "Yep. I'm in."

Jun sighed, "Eh, you guys go ahead... Imma sit this one out."

Talken nodded in agreement, "Yep, me too."

Siune just smiled, shaking her head, "I'm not one for tournaments, but I'll be cheering for all of you."

Kirito chuckled, "Well, I guess that settles it."

Eugeo motioned for the poster, which Tecchi handed it to him, "Question is, how do we sign up for it?"

Siune stood up, leaning over to look at the poster, "Hmm, it says here that you can register at the square starting tomorrow, and the tournament is next week."

Talken said, resting his head on his arm on the table, "Huh, so that means ya'll have a week to prepare..."

Siune nodded, "Yep, oh, and it also says that the participants will use weapons provided, so you'll have to decide on the weapon you wanna use when you register."

Yuuki nodded, "Okay, that's fine, I guess."

Tecchi scratched his chin, "Hmm, this might actually be so that all participants will have a fair fight."

Nori nodded, "Yeah, I mean, the difference in the quality of the weapons won't affect the fight much, and we'll have to win with skill alone."

Siune nodded, "Yep."

The girl then smiled, "But let's stop talking about the tournament, I'm more interested in where you're from, Kirito, Eugeo."

At that, everyone sat down and they started to chat for the entire afternoon before everyone headed home.

(linebreak)

A week later, Kirito was in a makeshift arena, standing opposite to a young man with bronze armor.

The teen was holding a simple one handed sword, while the other man had a small shield and a sword.

As they had discussed, Kirito, Eugeo, Yuuki, Tecchi and Nori had signed up for the tournament in North Centoria. And as luck had it, all of them started off in different sections, so they would meet in battle only after the first three battles.

Now, Kirito was placed against a young man from West Centoria. From what he could see, the man wasn't a noble, rather, the son of a local guard who wished to be a knight.

The young raven haired man pretty much knew why his opponent was here, and he hated to break his dreams, but Kirito still had to win.

Then, the referee yelled, "Begin!"

In that instant, Kirito's opponent charged, placing his shield in front of him in an attempt to ram right into Kirito.

But the teen wasn't going to just let him get hit. Spreading his legs open and lowering his body, Kirito waited as the man closed in.

At that last second, the teen pushed himself to the side, letting the man charge right pass him harmlessly. Not missing a beat, Kirito spun, giving kick to the back, sending his opponent sprawling to the ground.

But fortunately for the older man, he was fast on his feet, quickly recovering from his fall as he spun, swinging his sword at Kirito, who didn't have the chance to back away.

The teen tch'd, quickly bringing up his sword to parry the strike. But to his surprise, the older man pushed on, sending slash after slash at him, which Kirito managed to parry.

The teen could see plenty of openings after every strike, but to the man's credit, the older man managed to cover up every single opening by attacking continuously.

Kirito blocked another strike, redirecting it away, but not enough to send his opponent off balance. Though, it gave him enough time to jumped away, putting some distance between them.

It was then the young man noticed it. His opponent was starting to breathe heavily, and Kirito realized that the man in front of him didn't really have a form.

Rather, he was trying to make the match into a blitz by attacking continuously until Kirito slipped and gave him an opening.

Not a bad strategy, but not a good one either. That style would only work on enemies that were lower or on the same level, and Kirito could definitely see the difference in skill between them. It also made him realize how lucky he and Eugeo were to have trained under Bercouli.

(small linebreak)

Meanwhile, as Kirito parried the attacks, Eugeo, Yuuki and the others were watching, the latter and her friends rather impressed with Kirito .

Siune commented, "Wow, Kirito is toying with him."

Jun nodded in awe, "He's just pushing away his opponent's sword like its nothing!"

Talken looked at Eugeo, "Where did he learn to do that?"

Eugeo shrugged, "Our teacher, I guess? I mean, why are you all so surprised? Kirito's just parrying his attacks, he hasn't even started yet."

Nori gaped, "You mean he's not serious at all?!"

The blonde nodded, "Of course not. Though, I'm a bit surprised, Kirito's opponent has no form whatsoever, all he's doing is just flailing wildly with that sword and shield."

The others just gaped at his words. To them, Kirito's opponent was doing quite well, or at least, was quite formidable. But apparently Eugeo thought otherwise.

Eugeo then saw Kirito relax, and he smiled, "He's starting."

Tecchi raised an eyebrow, "Starting? What?"

The blonde smiled, "Getting serious. I think the match is over now."

The others just looked on, rather curious to what Eugeo meant.

At the same time, unseen by anyone else, Yuuki had an excited grin as she watched.

(linebreak)

Back with Kirito, the teen had placed some distance between him and his enemy.

Using the chance, Kirito spread his legs, lowering his body as he positioned his sword.

Then, he took a deep breath, the image of the technique he wanted to do appearing in his mind, as he felt the mana in his body flow towards his sword.

Then, to just about everyone's surprise, except for Eugeo, the sword started to glow sky blue.

Kirito's eyes landed on his opponent's surprised face, and he muttered silently, "Aincrad style: Horizontal Square."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Kirito burst into action.

Dashing towards his opponent, Kirito swung his blade from the right, landing a hard slash on the shield, causing his opponent's shield arm to be pushed to a side.

Not missing a beat, Kirito pulled his blade back, landing another slash on the shield, this time sending it flying away, as Kirito started to spin around the man.

Then, as he spun, Kirito swung his blade, landing a third strike on the armor, before coming to a stop.

But he wasn't done, gripping his sword tightly, Kirito swung his blade for a fourth time, slicing through the back armor.

As the combo finished, the upper armor of the man broke into four pieces, dropping to the ground, as Kirito placed his blade at the man's neck, "Do you yield?"

The man froze, feeling the sharp blade at his neck. The man's mind raced for ideas, before he nodded slowly, "Y-yes. I... I yield."

The referee nodded as he announced, "Winner, Kirito."

The crowd clapped, as Kirito shook his opponent's hand before they left the arena.

(linebreak)

The next match was between two men from South and East Centoria respectively, so Kirito and the others sat amongst the audience.

As Kirito sat down, Nori exclaimed, "Dude! That was sick!"

Kirito just smiled and nodded, "Thanks."

Jun asked, "So, you learned that move from your teacher?"

The teen realized he was refereferring to the Horizontal Square and nodded, "Yeah, he taught us several techniques."

Nori eyed him and Eugeo suspiciously, "You sure you're not secretly nobles?"

Eugeo smiled, "Nah, we just had a great teacher."

The others just nodded, deciding not to pry anh further, before they started chatting about light and random topics.

After a short moment, as the match came to an end, Yuuki stood up, "I'm up."

Eugeo grinned, "Good luck."

Kirito chuckled, "I doubt she needs it, go win, Yuuki."

The others just grinned and gave her thumbs up as Yuuki grinned, "You bet!"

The girl then left the audience area and headed for the preparation area.

As she walked away, Jun said, "Hey, come to think of it, how strong is Yuuki anyways?"

Kirito blinked, "You guys don't know?"

Siune shook her head, "Not really. We do train together some times, but most of the time Yuuki trains with her mother. And I don't think I've ever seen her go all out before."

Tecchi nodded, "Yeah, come to think of it, she never did. Makes me wonder how strong she actually is."

Eugeo chuckled, "I guess we'll just have to find out, don't we?"

Talken nodded, "Yep. Okay, it's starting."

Everyone looked at the ring, as Yuuki stood opposite of her opponent, a young man who was a local, wearing light grey armor with a dagger. Yuuki herself held a thin blade, a hybrid of a one-handed sword and a rapier.

(Just imagine a bland normal version of her canon sword.)

The referee looked at both contestants and asked, "Okay, are you ready?"

Yuuki nodded with a confident grin, while her opponent replied, "Yes."

The referee nodded, standing back, "Very well. Begin!"

Immediately, Yuuki's opponent charged forward, flipping his dagger into reverse grip as he swung it down.

Yuuki herself responded in kind, dashing forward with her sword, blocking the young man's dagger, redirecting it towards the ground, causing the young man to stumble.

But to Yuuki's surprise, the man quickly regained his footing, pulling back and sent an uppercut at her instead.

Yuuki grinned, leaning back ever so slightly so that the gauntlet missed her face by an inch, before she swiftly spun and kicked the man in the gut, sending him to the ground.

Not missing a beat, Yuuki steadied herself and charged forward, blade poised to strike. But to everyone's surprise, the man flipped backwards right onto his feet and clashed blades with the young girl again, pushing against each other for dominance.

The young man was honestly surprised. He had expected Yuuki to only rely on her agility and speed to overwhelm him, yet here she was, pushing against him even when he was pushing with everything he had.

After a short moment, they pushed each other away, before quickly charging each other again.

(linebreak)

As Yuuki and the young man fought, everyone looked at the arena in awe. Until now, most of the matches were only men brawling with swords, with the exception of Kirito's match, with this one added to the list.

To almost everyone, it was as if Yuuki and her opponent were locked in a dance. Every strike was either blocked or narrowly dodged, and neither of them showed any openings, covering their every move after the previous.

To those who were trained in combat, or at least, those who were somewhat exposed to combat, Yuuki's strength heavily relied on her sword, while using simple hand-to-hand to cover up her openings.

For her opponent, it was the exact opposite. It was obvious he was more inclined to using hand-to-hand combat, and the dagger with all of his armor served to help counter Yuuki's sword attacks.

(linebreak)

Back to the fight, Yuuki leaped away, taking a small breath as she watched her opponent.

The young man gripped his dagger and charged forward, pulling his arm back.

Yuuki took a breath as the man reached her. The girl pulled up her blade, letting the dagger hit it.

At the same time, she pulled back slightly, softening the blow, before she spun, positioning her blade at the same time.

Then, to everyone's surprise, the blade started to glow a light purple, right ad Yuuki thrust her blade towards the young man, stopping right before it touched his breast plate.

But it did its job.

Her opponent knew very well, what she was telling him. If this was a real fight, he'd be dead already. And he also knew, he was a long way before he had the right to enter the academy.

The man loosened his stance after a short moment, letting his dagger drop to the ground, "I surrender."

The referee nodded, "Winner by forfeit, Kayaba Yuuki!"

The crowd had mixed reactions. Some cheered, some boo'd. But as the man turned, Yuuki spoke out softly, just quiet enough for him to hear, "It was a great match, I had fun."

The man paused for a moment, before he continued walking away. Yuuki grinned before she went back up to the audience.

(linebreak)

As the next match started, Yuuki reached her seat, and Kirito and Eugeo smiled at her, the latter said, "Great match, Yuuki."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, though, that was a sword skill, right?"

Yuuki smiled sheepishly, "Umm, you could say that. Though it was actually more of enhancing my sword with mana."

Nori gaped, "You can do that?"

Eugeo scratched his chin before he nodded, "Hmm, if you use the same concepts of a sword skill, theoretically it is possible."

The others just gaped at them, before Jun asked, "But how did yoou learn all that, Yuuki?"

The girl smiled, "My mom taught me."

Siune nodded, "I see."

Tecchi smiled awkwardly, "That explains why you never really went all out on us..."

Yuuki just chuckled and grinned, not really knowing how to answer.

Siune smiled and shook her head before she spoke, "Well, I believe that's enough. Come on, the match is almost ending."

Everyone looked at the arena, and Yuuki smiled sheepishly at her friend, receiving a nod in response.

(linebreak)

A few days later, the tournament had reached the semi-finals. Tecchi had made it to the quarter finals, but had lost to a young man from East Centoria named Gladio.

Hence, Kirito, Yuuki and Eugeo were in the semi-finals, along with Gladio.

And now, Kirito was facing his opponent, the one who had taken down Tecchi, Gladio.

The referee looked at the two men, "Are you ready?"

Gladio held his cleaver, while Kirito held his sword, and both nodded, "Yeah."

The referee nodded and he stepped back, "Begin!"

XXX

Done. So that's the latest chapter. Now, in canon, the tournament was used so that Kirito and Eugeo could enter the academy.

Here, they don't need that. But I figured I'd just add it in. So, the next chapter will be Kirito vs a random character, then Eugeo vs Yuuki, and Kirito vs Eugeo or Yuuki.

Then we'll move on to the academy.

So yeah, review please. Until next time.


	63. Chapter 63

Hey guys. This is the 63rd chapter. Sorry for the late update, I've been quite busy with assignments, catching up on latest anime, games, social life and so on so forth. So I haven't really been able to work on the chapter.

But at least I got it done now.

Anyways, to how Yuuki will affect the academy arc. Her presence will definitely change Kirito and Eugeo's life, at least compared to canon. But I won't reveal too much XD.

So yeah, with that aside, here's the newest chapter.

XXX

As the referee announced the beginning of the match, Kirito stared at Gladio.

From the previous match, the man had used his superior strength with the cleaver to take down Tecchi's shield and sword, so his main strength was his huge strength behind each blow.

Kirito narrowed his eyes at the taller man in front of him, and with one glance, he knew Gladio wasn't taking him lightly at all.

The larger man smirked, before he gripped his cleaver and charged forward.

(linebreak: at the same time)

Meanwhile, on top of a building, two cloaked figures stood on the roof, staring down at the arena where Kirito and Gladio were fighting. And behind them, were two dragons, playing around silently on the roof.

The taller figure, a male, asked, annoyance evident in his voice, "Alice-sama, why are we wasting our time here?"

The shorter figure, revealed to be Alice, stayed silent, watching her childhood friend clash blades with his opponent.

After a short moment, Alice answered, "Eldrie, that one in the ring, as of now, he will definitely beat you in a straight on fight."

The knight's eyes widened, "W-what? Alice-sama, are you hearing yourself?"

The blonde had a small smile on her face, regardless of being much younger, the man acted like a kid a lot of times, "Yes. Provided, the two of you have equal equipment, of course. Give him a Divine Class Weapon, and he can probably defeat over half of our knights."

Eldrie had a shocked expression on his face, "Y-you must be joking!"

Alice shook her head, "I'm not."

After a short while, Alice turned and walked towards Ameyori, "Come on, the match is over, and we still need to get to the borders. Scheta is waiting for us."

Eldrie blinked as he stared down at the ring again, before shaking away his thoughts and followed Alice onto his own dragon.

As the pair flew away, Alice glanced back at the ring, smiling, 'Good luck, Kirito, Eugeo. I'll see you in a year.'

(Linebreak)

Back with the fight, Kirito had been dodging Gladio's swings easily. The teen had to admit, Gladio's swings were strong. Everytime the cleaver touched the ground, dust would cover the area.

The shorter man was sure, if he were to be hit by the sword even once, the match would be over. But everything is always balanced, for the strong swings, Gladio was rather slow, and Kirito took advantage of that.

Looking at the taller man, Kirito noticed his breathing was getting heavier. After a split second, Kirito decided to move.

Pulling his sword back, Kirito allowed the mana in his body to focus on his right arm, flowing into his sword, causing it to glow green. Taking a breath, Kirito spoke quietly, "Aincrad style: Snake Bite!"

Gladio narrowed his eyes at the tell tale glow of the sword skill, preparing himself to block the attack before going for a counter attack.

That was his mistake.

Kirito charged, and stopped right in front of his opponent, using his momentum to swing the blade at Gladio.

As expected, the man raised his sword to block the blow, and he did. But right as Kirito's sword bounced off of the cleaver to the left, the teen pulled back hard, sending another slash at the cleaver.

In the next moment, Gladio's eyes widened in shock, as all that was left of his cleaver, was a broken blade connected to a hilt, the broken piece of the sword stabbing itself in the ground some distance away from them.

After a second, Gladio was snapped out of his shock when he felt Kirito's blade at his neck. The teen asked, "So, do you yield?"

The larger man let out a breath and closed his eyes, letting the broken sword in his hands drop to the ground, "Yeah, you win."

The referee nodded and announced, "Winner, Kirito."

The teen nodded, lowering his blade, before extending his hand to the larger man, "Thank you, it was a great match."

Gladio chuckled, grasping Kirito's hand firmly, not surprised by the teen anymore, "Yeah, the next we meet, I'll win."

The younger man just smirked, "I'll look forward to it."

(linebreak)

After a short moment, Kirito reached the audience seats, though Eugeo and Yuuki had already went down to the arena.

As Kirito sat down, Tecchi said, "Congrats man, you're in the finals now."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, thanks man."

Nori grinned, "I think he's more concerned about who he'll be facing after this. Its Yuuki or Eugeo after all."

Siune smiled, but said, "Okay, enough, they're starting."

(linebreak)

Yuuki grinned at Eugeo, who grinned back in turn. The both of them pretty much knew what each other could do, but it still didn't ease the excitement of facing each other, especially knowing that the winner would face Kirito in the finals.

The referee glanced between them as he asked, "Are you ready?"

Both of them nodded, Eugeo taking his stance, while Yuuki brandished her sword.

The referee nodded and stepped back, "Very well, BEGIN!"

Immediately, Yuuki charged forward, aiming a thrust at Eugeo's chest. The blonde narrowed his eyes, sidestepping right in time to dodge the attack, at the same time positioning his blade so that it was right at Yuuki's gut.

But before Eugeo could swing, Yuuki twisted her body, dodging the slash as she landed some distance away from him.

The two grinned at each other, both impressed with the other's display of skill.

Then, both of them took a stance.

Eugeo pulled his sword back, his sword glowing bright pale blue, while Yuuki's sword glowed bright white.

Then both of them charged, yelling the names of their respective sword skills, "Aincrad Style: Rage Spike/Shooting Star!"

The two blades met, but not completely striking, as both swords grinded against each other, sliding past each other, as the swords headed for the opposing wielders.

(just like a double cross counter)

Gasps could be heard from the audience, as the swords seemingly headed for both of their heads.

But fortunately, both of them were fine, as Yuuki tilted her head just in time to dodge the stab, while Eugeo turned his head slightly, letting the sword graze his cheek.

Eugeo and Yuuki both grinned at each other for a brief moment before they quickly separated, leaping back.

Seeing that both fighters were fine, the crowd started to roar in anticipation, prompting both of them to charge each other again.

For the next few moments, the two were locked in a dance. Every strike was either blocked, parried or dodged by each other.

As Eugeo redirected one of Yuuki's stabs away, he pulled his blade up, aiming a slash at her chest.

But the girl quickly pulled herself back, letting the tip of the sword barely grazing past the chest plate, leaving a small mark as she stepped back.

The two stared at each other, before once again moving into a stance, causing their respective swords to glow.

Eugeo announced, bending his knees as he prepared to leap forward, "Aincrad style: Sonic Leap."

At the same time, Yuuki pulled her sword back, "Vorpal Strike!"

The two then charged, with Eugeo leaping forward, while Yuuki charging forward with her blade.

Then, in that next instant, the two swordsmen clashed blades, before moving past each other, swords extended in front of them, at the same time, the whole audience fell silent.

Then, as Yuuki and Eugeo were about to turn and continue, two clangs caught their attention respectively, and they both saw the upper half of their blades on the ground in front of them.

The two turned, facing each other, noticing their broken blades and grinned.

Without a word, the two charged each other, and to everyone's surprise, the two still fought pretty well with their broken weapons, causing another roar of excitement from the crowd.

Due to the shortened range their broken weapons had, they had both resorted to using their blades like daggers, Eugeo more so than Yuuki.

After clashing blades several more times, Yuuki and Eugeo backed away, none of them letting their guards down.

Then, in a blink of an eye, both of them charged forward. They quickly closed the gap, and Eugeo swung his sword at Yuuki, who blocked it before redirecting it to the floor.

Then, the girl quickly pulled her sword back, swinging it before stopping right at Eugeo's neck, "I win."

Eugeo glanced up at her, a small grin tugging at his lips, "Think again."

Yuuki's eyes widened when she felt something at her stomach, and she glanced down before noticing Eugeo's sword pointed at her stomach.

The two stared at each other, and before they could countinue, they were interrupted by a bell.

That snapped them back to reality, as the referee announced, "Due to the time limit, along with the fact that none of the fighters are down, this match is a draw."

Immediately, that induced boos and yells of disappointment from the crowd. Though most of the participants realized it wasn't wrong, it was stated in the rules, that the participants would be given a certain amount of time for each match.

The only reason the bell was never used in the previous matches, was because the matches ended before it could be used. Each winner usually disarmed or incapacitated their opponents before the time ran out. All except for this one.

Yuuki and Eugeo stared at each other, and they both grinned before staring up at Kirito. The girl then looked at the referee, "Mr Referee, sir, how about we compromise?"

The man raised an eyebrow, "A compromise?"

Eugeo nodded, "Yeah, how about the two of us, including Kirito, have a three way fight?"

Yuuki nodded, causing the referee to consider the idea for a while. The man then looked up, where the officials were sitting, and got a small nod from one of them.

The referee nodded before he looked at the audience, "Will participant Kirito please come down to the arena? As this match is a draw, it is decided that the three of you would have a three way battle, as the final match of this tournament."

Kirito blinked, before noticing the looks on Yuuki and Eugeo's faces. The teen resisted the urge to grin, since he knew both wanted to fight him, and he wanted to fight them as well.

Tecchi grinned at him, "Well, turns out you'll be fighting both of em."

The teen nodded, "Yeah, this'll be fun."

Kirito stood up and quickly went down to the arena.

(linebreak)

Later, in the evening, the group was at a restaurant, eating dinner. Kirito, Yuuki and Eugeo were all bandaged up, having pushed themselves a lot during the tournament.

Nori commented as she took a bite out of her food, "Ya know, its kinda disappointing... I mean how can ya'll end it with a draw?!"

The girl exclaimed at the end, earning chuckles from the three finalists. Tecchi also chuckled, "I don't think they'd get a winner, at least, not in a day."

Jun nodded, "I know right?! I mean, the three of you were all almost equal! It took the whole afternoon until the match ended with a draw! And that happened because it was taking that much time!"

Kirito chuckled as he put down his cup, "Its fine, we got the reward split between us anyways..."

Eugeo nodded, smiling, "Yeah, well, it probably wouldn't end well if we really got a winner."

Yuuki smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, I'm sure all of us would be hurt pretty badly."

Tecchi chuckled, taking a bite out of his food, "Eh, as long as they're happy, let em be."

Siune nodded, "Yep, we've got the entrance test in a few weeks, let's just relax for now."

Talken nodded and cut Jun off before he could talk, "Yeah, come on and eat, the food's getting cold!"

The brunette grumbled and just bit his spoon hard, earning a round of laughter from the table.

(Roughly three weeks later)

Kirito and Eugeo were at Sadore's shop again, standing in front of the counter.

Kirito asked, "So, Sadore-san, is it done?"

The old man chuckled, "Yes yes, patience, my boy."

The old blacksmith reached down and brought out a long object wrapped in pure black cloth. He then placed it down on the counter, before unfolding the cloth, revealing a pitch black one-handed sword with a guard that had the symbol of a tree.

Even with just one glance, Kirito knew this was a sword like no other. He wasn't an expert, but he could see just how much skill and effort Sadore had put in to forging the blade.

Sadore grinned, admiring his work, "This will definitely be one of the greatest swords I've ever made in my whole life. There will never be a sword like this."

The blacksmith looked at Kirito, "Treasure it, as if it were a part of you."

The teen nodded as Sadore slid the sword across the counter to him. The old man then said, "By the way, you should think of a name for it. I was planning to, but I think its better if you did it."

Kirito blinked and looked at Sadore, "Name it?"

Sadore nodded with a small smirk, "Every weapon needs a name, and I remember the saying that if a warrior names his weapon, it'd strengthen the bond of the wielder and the weapon, making them stronger, or something like that."

The old man chuckled, "Well, you can ignore that last part, but that sword needs a name, like that blue sword of yours, Eugeo."

The blonde blinked and brought out his own sword, "My sword... That's true, it does have a name, the Blue Rose Sword (Aobana no Ken)."

Kirito nodded, "I see..."

Eugeo glanced at Kirito, "So, what will you name it?"

Kirito stared at the sword for a short while, before the Blue Rose Sword caught his eye, and he glanced back at his pitch black sword.

Kirito considered for another while, before he nodded, "I think I'll name this, the Night Sky Sword (Yozora no Ken)."

Sadore smirked, "Hmph, not a bad name, for the sword."

The man brought out a sheath and threw it at Kirito, who caught it easily, "Here, a sheath for the sword. You can clip it to your belt or wear it on your back, it should be useful."

Kirito nodded, "Thanks. So, how much is this?"

Sadore chuckled and threw Kirito a card, who also caught it easily, "Free of charge. Its been a while since I got to actually enjoy forging a sword. Just come back here regularly to let me maintain it. That card should help you keep track of when to bring it over."

Kirito flipped over the card and saw that it was a schedule, or rather, an empty schedule, for when he had to come over.

Before he could ask, Sadore spoke, "The sword needs to be maintained at least once a month, so everytime you come over for that, I'll check off one of the boxes, so that you know when was the last time your sword had done maintenance."

Kirito nodded and bowed his head slightly, "Thank you very much, Sadore-san."

The old blacksmith smirked, "Think nothing of it. Just make sure you enter the academy, or else having that sword won't do shit for you."

Kirito grinned and nodded, "Yes sir."

Sadore regarded both teens before he made shooing actions, "Now get out of here and train, I still got work to do, and the two of you have your exams coming up."

The teens just chuckled as Sadore walked back to his forge, before they too left the shop to look for Yuuki and the others.

(linebreak)

A week later, Kirito, Eugeo, Yuuki and the rest of their group were at the Sword Mastery Academy, waiting for their turn to take the test.

The exam was simple. Each participant would enter the examination room, and face off against an instructor. If the participants manage to survive for five minutes, then they pass.

After that, the participants would be graded according to their performances against the instructor, and the top 120 examinees would be accepted as students, where the top 12 students would be assigned as Valets for the current 12 Elite Swordsman-in-Training.

Now, Tecchi was up, and as his name was announced, the tall man nodded to his friends as he grabbed his shield and sword, before he walked into the room.

Shortly after that, the man walked out of the room. Talken asked, "So, how did it go?"

Tecchi smiled, "It wasn't that hard, I think. I managed to survive for five minutes, that's for sure."

The others just nodded before Jun heard his name and went in. Tecchi then said, "Okay, good luck, I'll wait for you outside."

Siune nodded, "Okay."

The man then walked out, leaving the group there to wait for their turn.

Soon, Yuuki, Talken, Nori and Siune got their turn, followed by Eugeo, and finally, Kirito was the only one of their group waiting for his turn.

The teen waited patiently as he saw many examinees walk in and out, some with confident faces, some with happy faces, and some with frustrated or sad faces.

After a while, as another examinee walked out from the door, the invigilator by the door called out, "Next, Kirito."

The teen stood up and walked towards the door. The invigilator nodded as he checked Kirito's name off the list, "You ready?"

Kirito nodded and strapped his sheath tightly to his waist, "Yes sir."

The invigilator nodded and gestured to the door, "Alright, you can go in."

Kirito nodded and opened the door, walking into a rather spacious room. In the middle of the room, was a blonde man wearing the standard staff uniform holding a normal looking one handed sword, while sitting at a side, were three judges, ready to see how Kirito did against the instructor.

The man looked at Kirito, sizing up the young man, "So, are you ready?"

Kirito nodded, drawing his sword as he went to stand in front of the man, earning a raised eyebrow from the instructor at the unusual colour of his blade, "Yes, I'm ready."

The instructor nodded, "Very well."

The man then glanced at the judges, and the one in the middle nodded, "You may begin, now!"

Immediately, Kirito charged forward, drawing his sword back, with his left hand holding his sheath so that it wouldn't swing around when he fought.

The instructor's eyes widened in slight surprise at the speed Kirito possessed, which had quickly closed the gap between them. The man barely had the time to raise his sword to block Kirito's strike.

But before the man could retaliate, Kirito was already moving. Quickly pulling back from the blocked attempt, Kirito spun, sending a slash at the instructor yet again.

The instructor's eyes widened, and he leaned back on reflex just in time to dodge the blade, the pitch blade metal glinting dangerously as it passed harmlessly in front of his face.

Quickly using the short amount of time to regain his footing, the instructor decided to go onto offensive, swinging his blade diagonally at Kirito.

To the man's pleasant surprise, Kirito tilted his body right at the last minute, in a way such that the sword cut through the air harmlessly, barely missing his skin by an inch.

The man caught Kirito's subtle smirk, and he realized the teen had done the exact same thing he did just a moment ago.

The instructor held back a smirk, and pulled his sword up, sending a slash at Kirito in the same path his sword had just moved through a few seconds ago.

Kirito quickly moved, blocking the attack with his own sword, shortly locking blades with the instructor.

The instructor commented, "Not bad kid."

Kirito smirked, "You ain't seen nothing yet."

The man just raised an eyebrow as he tilted his blade, pushing both of their sword arms upwards.

Kirito's eyes widened as the instructor grinned, pulling his sword down to his neck. But, surprising instructor yet again, Kirito managed to dodge the strike, kicking him away at the same time.

Kirito took a short breath, maintaining the distance between him and the instructor.

The teen then lowered his sword to his waist, initiating a sword skill, to the surprise of the instructor. The Night Sky Sword glowed, and Kirito charged.

Instantly closing the gap between them, Kirito swung his sword down vertically, clashing against the man's sword.

Then, to the instructor's surprise, Kirito pushed his sword further down, but not pushing him back, instead making his sword slide down from his own.

The instructor tried to take advantage of the small opening to attack, but Kirito was already moving, as he quickly pulled his sword back up, striking the sword again.

The man was surprised by the continuous attacks, but managed to stand his ground as he tried to attack Kirito again.

But the teen wasn't having that. Spinning, Kirito sent another upward slash from below, striking the instructor's sword hard and fast for a third time.

And in that instant, everyone heard a loud clang, and the instructors, along with the judges, all had their eyes widened, as the upper part of the instructor's sword was sent into the air, leaving the examiner with only half of a broken blade.

Then, before anyone could react, Kirito's sword was directly above the instructor's head, just a few inches from touching his hair.

Kirito let out a breath, before he asked, "Do you yield?"

The instructor blinked, before he chuckled, "Yes, yes, I yield."

The three judges quickly broke into a quiet discussion, and the instructor spoke, "You can leave, young man, you did very well, you're the third one to beat me."

He looked at the clock on the desk, and smiled forcefully, "And it seems you're also the first one to beat me in three minutes."

Kirito just smiled sheepishly, and the man cleared his throat, "Anyways, go home and get some rest, you're most likely to get into the academy... And I'll need a new sword."

Kirito just nodded, sheathing his sword, and left the room as the instructor went to talk to the three judges.

(linebreak)

Kirito walked out of the venue, and quickly spotted Eugeo, Yuuki, Tecchi, Talken, Jun, Siune and Nori waiting for him by a bench.

Kirito waved, "Hey, sorry to keep you guys waiting."

Siune smiled, "It's fine. So, how did it go?"

Kirito grinned, "I beat the instructor."

Jun sighed, "You, Eugeo and Yuuki are monsters. I couldn't even land so much of a hit, and I barely survived for five minutes."

Talken nodded, "Same here."

Nori smiled coyly and poked the bespectacled boy at the sides, "That's just 'cause you lack training, both of you."

Talken swatted the girl's arm away, rubbing his side, "Its not like we're not training at all, and its not like everyone can be as good as them!"

Tecchi chuckled, "He's not wrong."

Kirito and Eugeo just sweatdropped as Yuuki spoke, "If that's the case, how about we go train now?"

Jun gaped, "Now?! We just finished fighting against the examiner, can't we go chill at the cafe or somethin?"

Kirito chuckled, "I don't think we should, at least, not right now..."

Eugeo just smiled, not saying anything as he watched the others bicker around.

(linebreak)

The next day, the group of eight were outside the academy, where a large board stood, on it being several pieces of paper that had the names of the 120 students who managed to enrol into the academy.

Kirito looked for his name, and easily spotted it at the very top, followed by Yuuki and Eugeo.

He was about to tell Yuuki and Eugeo when he heard Nori say loudly, "Oh! I got in!"

Immediately after, Jun exclaimed in joy, "Me too!"

Tecchi smiled as he spotted his name in the middle, "Same here."

Siune just smiled as she spotted her name, stepping back so that the other students could check their names.

And finally, Eugeo stared at his name in surprise, shocked that he had managed to get second, while Kirito and Yuuki got first and third respectively.

Then, Kirito was about to congratulate his brother-in-all-but-blood, when both of them were caught in a hug by Yuuki, the girl beaming in joy, "We did it! We actually did it!"

Kirito just chuckled, "Yeah... We did it."

Eugeo just smiled, rather happy that they were progressing quite smoothly.

Tecchi chuckled, "Nice. You three will be part of the valets, and most likely get extra training from them."

Siune nodded, "Yes, and if you keep maintaining your position, you'll get Valets of your own."

Kirito just chuckled, "Eh, who knows.. It may change for all we know."

Nori grinned, "Eh who cares about that now, let's go celebrate!"

No one objected, and they left the area, ignoring some of the people yelling in joy or wallowing in disappointment.

(linebreak)

A few days later, the new 120 students had started their classes. The orientation was simple. A brief explanation of what was expected by the headmaster, and a short speech by the top student, Lovo Levantein, before the students were dismissed to enter their classes.

Now, Kirito, Eugeo and Yuuki were standing amongst the 12 Valets, and in front of them were 12 senior students, the 12 Elite Swordsman-in-Training.

The twelve newly enrolled students were to be chosen by their seniors as their valets, before they joined the other students in class.

As the senior swordsmen all approached their chosen Valets, a young woman wearing a purple variant of the standard uniform approached Kirito.

The young lady smiled, "Your name is Kirito, yes?"

Kirito blinked several times before he bowed his head slightly, "Yes, umm..."

The young woman smiled, "My name is Sortiliena Serlut, you'll be my Valet, okay?"

Kirito nodded, "Yes, Sortiliena-senpai."

Sortiliena smiled again, "Just call me Liena, my friends call me that anyways."

Kirito nodded, a small grin tugging his lips, "Got it, Liena-senpai."

Liena glanced at the others. Most of her fellow swordsmen-in-training had chosen their Valets, most of them choosing fellow nobles, except for a select few.

Gorgolosso Baltoh had chosen Eugeo. The large man in a green variant of the uniform had initially wanted to choose Kirito, as both of them were not nobles, as far as he knew. But Liena had beat him to it, so he chose Eugeo.

Konno Ran, a young woman with long brown hair, had chosen Yuuki as her Valet.

The young woman turned back to Kirito, "We're quite done here actually, just meet me outside the academy after class, kay?"

Kirito nodded, "Got it."

Liena noticed that most of her fellow seniors were leaving, and she nodded at Kirito, "I'll see you later, I still have class, and I believe you have class too, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah..."

The woman smiled and started to walk away, "Have fun in class then."

The young man nodded as Liena walked away to join Gorgolosso and Ran, before Kirito turned to join up with Yuuki and Eugeo.

As Kirito walked to them, the black haired teen asked, "So, how were your mentors?"

Eugeo smiled, "Gorgolosso-senpai is pretty cool. He's kinda like us actually..."

Yuuki grinned, "Ran-senpai is awesome! This'll be great!"

Kirito nodded, "I see, good for you then."

Yuuki smiled coyly and nudged the black haired teen, "You're not that bad off yourself, I saw your mentor, she's pretty hot, ya know?"

Kirito laughed lightly and awkwardly, "Well... I guess I got lucky(?)"

Eugeo smiled. He was tempted to join in on teasing Kirito, but decided to help his best friend out, "Come on, let's go to class, we'll be late if we stay here and tease Kirito about getting a hot mentor."

Kirito sighed in a defeated manner as they started walking to class, ignoring the laughter from Eugeo and Yuuki.

Soon, the three reached their class. As there were only 120 students in the academy, they were split into six classes of 20 students to make teaching easier.

Fortunately, Kirito, Eugeo, Yuuki, Tecchi, Talken, Siune, Jun and Nori were all in the same class.

As they entered the class, the three saw a middle aged man with spiky brown hair explaining an upcoming assessment.

The man noticed the three and stopped his explanation, "Ah, Valets selection, yes?"

Kirito and the other two nodded, "Yes sir."

The man nodded and gestured to the seats among the students, "Take a seat, you can ask your friends later about what you missed."

Kirito, Eugeo and Yuuki all nodded, as they went to sit with their friends.

(linebreak)

After class, during the one hour break before they continued the rest of their classes, Kirito, Eugeo, Yuuki and the others were at a restaurant a short distance from the academy.

Nori asked as she took a sip from her juice, "So, how did the Valet thing go?"

Yuuki grinned, "It was great, I mean, Ran-senpai seems nice."

Eugeo nodded, "Gorgolosso-senpai seemed nice too, but we'll probably find out later. I'm meeting up with him later after class ends."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, me too."

Yuuki smiled slyly, "I'm sure you're looking forward to it, right?"

Kirito just sighed and calmly facepalmed, earning a round of laughter from everyone else.

Tecchi smiled, "Well, who knows, maybe your mentor actually likes younger men."

Kirito groaned, "Just stop... She's just my mentor, I don't even know her apart from her name."

Nori grinned, "Not yet anyways. YET."

Everyone laughed at that, earning another groan from the poor teen. After a short moment, Siune decided to help him and spoke, "I think that's enough teasing him for now. We have less than an hour left before we have to head back to class."

Everyone knew Siune was trying to change the topic, and they just grinned/smiled coyly as they stood up from the table. Nori said, "Okay, we'll do that later."

Kirito just groaned as everyone laughed, before he followed them back to class.

(linebreak)

After class, Kirito was waiting for Liena outside the academy entrance. Eugeo and Yuuki had went to meet up with their respective mentors, and the others had went home to rest.

As he waited, Kirito heard a female voice, sounding in his head, 'Kirito...'

The teen winced, clutching his head as he heard a loud ringing in his head while the voice continued, 'Kirito... There's not much time left...'

The teen leaned on one of the lamp posts near him as he clutched his head in pain as the voice sounded in his head again, but this time, the voice was blurred, and he couldn't hear anything the voice said.

Kirito gasped in pain, leaning on the lamp post, 'What...was that?'

But before the teen could ponder any longer, a familiar voice reached his ears, "Kirito? Are you alright?"

He glanced to a side, noticing Liena standing there with a concerned look on her face. Kirito took a breath and straightened up, "N-no... It's nothing."

Liena wasn't really convinced, and she said, "If you're not feeling well, you should go home and get some rest. We can do this some other time."

Kirito shook his head, trying to clear his head at the same time, "No, its fine."

Liena let out a sigh before she nodded, "Okay, if you say so. But if you don't feel well, we can continue this later, got it?"

Kirito nodded, ignoring the slowly fading pain in his head, "Got it."

Liena nodded and turned, "Come on, I'll show you my room, then we'll find a place to talk about our arrangements."

Kirito nodded and followed after her.

(linebreak)

After half an hour, with an awkward situation for Kirito as he was shown where Liena lived, the two were at a cafe.

Liena took a sip from her cup of tea before she placed the cup down, "So, I'm pretty sure you know what a Valet is supposed to do, yes?"

Kirito nodded, "Yes, we were briefed when we started class."

Liena nodded, "While they say its required for the valets to clean our rooms, I'd prefer if you don't touch some of my stuff. So let's just make it easier for the both of us, alright?"

Kirito nodded, "Of course... So..."

Liena smiled softly, "I'll tell what you'll have to do later. But aside from that, just go on with your own stuff."

Kirito nodded, "Okay, thank you, Liena-senpai."

The woman smiled, taking another sip from her cup, "I used to be a Valet too, so I know how hard it is to maintain both being a Valet and maintaining your rank in the academy."

Kirito just nodded, taking a sip from his coffee.

Liena placed her cup down before looking at Kirito, "But serious stuff aside, I'm a bit curious, Kirito."

Kirito raised an eyebrow, "Curious? About what?"

Liena answered, "You. I mean, you're not from a noble family, but yet from the records of your entrance test, you, along with your friends Eugeo and Yuuki, are the only ones to beat the instructor, and you were the one who did it with the shortest amount of time."

Kirito subconsciously gulped as he felt Liena's calculative gaze directed at him, "I-I just had a great teacher."

Liena raised an eyebrow, "May I know who your teacher is?"

Kirito opened his mouth to answer, but before he did, he remembered that he wasn't supposed to reveal Bercouli as his teacher, and he shook his head instead, "Sorry, but I made a promise not to tell anyone."

Liena stared at Kirito for a brief moment before she nodded, "I see. Never mind then."

The woman then leaned back on her chair, "Well, since you just started class recently, let's take it easy for this week then, you can start joining me in training next week."

Kirito was slightly surprised, but he nodded, "Thank you, Liena-senpai."

The woman smiled, "Don't worry about it. Though, I'll put you through hell during our training sessions."

Kirito blinked, before he sweatdropped, "O-okay..."

Liena smiled, "Now, I believe we're done with the serious business."

Kirito blinked, "We are?"

The young lady nodded, "Yep."

The senior student looked up at the clock tower, where the only clock in the town was located, and she nodded, "Okay, we have quite some time. Let's go take a walk."

Kirito blinked, "Eh?"

Liena smiled, "I'm sure you don't have anything else to do today, and I have nothing on my schedule. So let's take it easy, and get to know each other better. We're gonna be stuck together for a year after all."

Kirito blinked before he nodded slowly, "Y-yeah... That makes sense."

Liena smiled and stood up, "Good. If you want to, this can be a date too."

Kirito gaped, opening his mouth, before he closed it again, speechless. Liena saw the look on his face and giggled, "I'm kidding. Come on."

Kirito nodded and stood up, following his senior/mentor around the town, where they familiarised themselves with each other as they walked.

(linebreak)

In the evening, after dinner, Kirito and Liena had parted ways, and the teen had gone back to his shared apartment with Eugeo.

As he closed the door, he spotted Eugeo on the couch, a sly grin on his face as he waited for his best friend to enter the apartment.

Kirito greeted, "Hey."

Eugeo greeted back, the grin not leaving his face, "Hey. How was your date with Sortiliena-senpai?"

Kirito gaped as he blushed slightly, "W-what are you talking about?"

Eugeo's grin widened, "We saw you, and Sortiliena-senpai, walking around together like you were on a date."

Kirito took a breath, mentally telling himself to calm down, "Liena-senpai was just showing me around, so that our jobs as mentor and valets would be easier."

Eugeo raised an eyebrow, "Liena-senpai?"

Kirito glared at his best friend, "Yes, and not what you think, her friends call her that."

Eugeo grinned as he chuckled slightly, deciding not further antagonise his brother, "Sure sure. By the way, according to Gorgolosso-senpai, Sortiliena-senpai prefers younger men."

Kirito resisted the urge to smack Eugeo's face, and he just turned to his room, "Shut up... and go to bed... We still have class tomorrow."

Eugeo laughed, "Whatever you say."

Kirito just grumbled and went into his room, ignoring Eugeo's voice as he went to sleep.

XXX

Done. So that's the 63rd chapter. The next chapter will develop more on Kirito and Eugeo's school life, and so on so forth.

And apologies in advance, I'm in bachelor of pharmacy, so I'm gonna be quite busy for the next few years... So updates won't be as frequent as they used to be. Though I'll try my best to finish them on time, most likely and hopefully in a month.

So yeah, review please. Until the next chapter.


	64. Chapter 64

Hey, this is the 64th chapter.

To the Guest, the purpose of the UW arc? Aside from to build up for the next and final arc, and because I want to? I don't think there's any other reason apart that.

Now, moving on, I want to really get everyone's genuine opinion on this.

Right now, Kirito has Asuna, Hikari, Sinon and Suguha in his harem. But they are all in the Elemental Nations now, and Kirito has no memories of them, apart from images.

Now, Kirito is in the Underworld, and he is essentially single and ready to mingle. So, if, and by if I really mean IF, the majority of you want it, then I will add Liena, Ronye, and possibly one or two more girls into his harem, from the Underworld.

Then I will really for real, lock the harem, as the story will be moving into its final stages once the Elemental Nations come back into play.

So I want all of your opinions. And I'm not talking about, oh I want to see Kirito with this girl, add her to the harem.

No, I want legit reasons, how this would affect the story in the long run, how would it affect Kirito's relationship with every other girl. Remember, Kirito is not a playboy here. He is a genuine man who wants to protect his family and home.

So I want you guys to think on that and give me your honest opinion.

If not, since I'm writing as I go, I'll not add any girls to the harem.

So yeah, enjoy the story.

XXX

(Timeskip five months later)

In one of the training halls, Kirito swung his wooden blade at Sortiliena, who blocked it and pushed against her Valet into a blade lock.

The young woman smirked, and she twisted her blade, sliding it down her valet's own wooden sword towards his chest.

But before the sword could reach him, Kirito moved, pulling back, pushing his sword up before he jumped away.

Liena frowned slightly as she saw Kirito jump away, before she charged forward and swung her blade at Kirito.

Again, the young lady saw a slight hesitance in her valet's movements, before Kirito jumped away, dodging her slash.

Sortiliena loosed her stance as she said, "Okay, that's enough for today."

Kirito loosened his stance, "Are you sure, Liena-senpai?"

The woman nodded, "Yes, but I have something to say."

Kirito raised an eyebrow, walking towards his mentor.

But then, the teen's eyes widened as Liena suddenly dashed forward, appearing in front of him in an instant, her wooden sword poised to strike.

Kirito instinctively raised his sword, blocking Liena's sword before he kicked her away in the gut.

Only after a moment did Kirito realized what had happened and he quickly ran over to his mentor, "I'm so sorry, Liena-senpai!"

Liena stood up, rubbing the spot where Kirito kicked her, "It's fine..."

The woman stared at Kirito and said before he could say anything, "But as I thought, you're holding back."

Kirito blinked before he smiled awkwardly, "W-what are you talking about, Liena-senpai?"

Liena frowned, "During our sparring sessions, I'd always notice you hesitating before moving, as if you could see through my moves, and decided to not counter them. What happened just now just proves that."

Kirito sweated under the piercing gaze of his senior. The younger man had to admit, in the beginning, he had been expecting Liena to be way stronger than him, that was until he had faced her in a spar.

Ever since they started sparring, Kirito could see openings in Liena's stances every time she attacked. The first few times, he had taken the chances, and Liena had congratulated him for it.

But as they continued, Kirito felt that it would be bad if he showed Liena he was better than her, considering how great her pride was, from what he saw. So he held back, learning some stuff he never knew at the same time.

That continued, until now.

Kirito smiled awkwardly, "Haha, well..."

Liena sighed, deciding not to push any further, "If you don't want to tell me, it's fine. We all have secrets we want to keep."

Kirito visibly relaxed, before he stiffened as Sortiliena glared at him hard, "But don't you dare hold back against me anymore, capisce?"

Kirito nodded wordlessly, obviously very intimidated by the glare. Liena nodded in satisfaction, before she relaxed, "Seriousness aside, I think this is enough for today."

Kirito nodded, "Okay."

He then stared at her warily, "You're... not gonna attack me again, are you?"

Liena blinked several times before she giggled, "No, I'm not."

She took a breath before she gazed at the clock tower from the window, "It's reaching 4 soon, we'll have to head back soon..."

Liena turned to Kirito, "How bout we go get some ice cream, my treat?"

Kirito blinked, considering the idea. Eugeo and Yuuki had told him they wouldn't return until night, given they still had to clean their mentors' rooms respectively, unlike Kirito, and the others were busy with their own tasks.

Considering the circumstances, Kirito had been the lucky one out of them all. He had the most free time, and he had arguably the best mentor.

After thinking for a short while, Kirito shrugged, "Eh sure, why not?"

Liena smiled and extended her arm, "Gimme your sword, I'll meet you at the entrance, 'kay?"

Kirito handed her the wooden sword and lowered his head slightly, "Thank you, Liena-senpai."

The young woman smiled and turned, "Its fine, just head to the academy entrance and wait for me there."

Before Kirito could say anything, Liena left the hall, leaving Kirito alone. The teen sighed, scratching his head. He could never understand his mentor. One moment she was pissed, the next moment she was suggesting that she treat him to ice cream.

The black haired teen shook his head and went to turn off the lights and tidy up everything else before locking up the training hall.

As he walked through the corridors, Kirito spotted many other students chatting around him, mostly about idle matters. Though as he walked, the teen caught sight of a large man with a military burr hair cut looking at him.

The black haired teen absently noted that the man was Volo Levantein, the man who held the only seat higher than his mentor in terms of rankings in the academy.

The two shared a glance, and Volo hmph'd, before turning to continue on his way to wherever he was going.

Kirito just stared at the shrinking image of Volo's figure, 'What was that about?'

He shrugged mentally before he continued walking to the academy entrance.

(linebreak)

Meanwhile, Sortiliena had just placed the wooden swords back to where they belonged.

The young woman smiled, "Alright, time to go."

Liena turned and flicked the lights off before she walked out of the store room, entering the corridors as she headed for the entrance.

As she walked, she spotted Ran walking towards her direction. The shorter brunette smiled and waved, and Liena waved back.

Ran smiled, "Hey, what's up?"

Liena smiled, "Nothing much really, just finished training, and I'm heading for some ice cream."

Ran nodded, "I see, I'm going out for an early dinner with Gorgolosso and the others, wanna join?"

The taller girl smiled apologetically, shaking her head, "Its okay, you guys go ahead."

Ran blinked before she smiled slyly, "Are you going with Kirito?"

Liena blinked, "Yeah, actually, why?"

Ran grinned slyly, folding her arms as she walked past Liena, "Hmm, nothing~ Have fun on your date then."

Liena blushed and she snapped her head at Ran who was walking away, "D-date?!"

Ran just waved as she walked away, leaving Sortiliena alone in the corridors. The brunette stood there, 'Its not a date, is it?'

Liena shook her head, shaking away those thoughts before she continued her way to the entrance of the academy.

(linebreak)

With Kirito, the teen stared at the sky, feeling nostalgic for some reason, as he waited for Sortiliena.

As he waited, Kirito thought on what Liena had shown him during their sparring sessions.

The older woman used a whip with a rapier, literally dual wielding, and it had peaked his interest in the art itself, more specifically, using two swords to dual wield.

Though he didn't actually had the chance to ask anyone about the idea, since as far as he knew, there wasn't anyone who dual wielded with two swords.

The teen also thought on her techniques. With a sword alone, there were plenty of openings for him to exploit, but that was only because Liena was used to using a whip with a sword.

Though the openings were still there, Kirito found himself more hard pressed in winning against his mentor when she used both of her weapons.

Soon, the teen was broken out of his musings when he noticed Sortiliena walking out of the academy towards him.

Kirito waved, "Liena-senpai."

For some odd reason, the young lady blushed slightly, not meeting his eyes, before she answered, "Hey, come on, let's go."

Kirito blinked confusedly as his mentor started to walk quickly, and he just followed.

With Liena, however, the woman had thoughts racing through her mind, mostly about what Ran had told her. The woman repeated in her mind, 'Not a date... Not a date... Just a friendly trip to get ice cream with my Valet. That's all.'

As they walked, Kirito asked, "Liena-senpai, are you okay?"

Liena blinked, snapping out of her thoughts, looking at Kirito, "Huh?"

The younger teen asked again, "Are you alright? You've been quiet for a while now."

Liena blinked and calmed herself mentally, "Its nothing, just thinking about stuff..."

Kirito nodded, "Alright, just make sure you don't overwork yourself, senpai."

The woman just smiled and nodded as they continued their walk, arriving at the shop shortly after.

As they walked to the stand, Liena looked over the choices available before she faced the cashier, "One vanilla ice cream, please."

The cashier nodded, and Liena glanced at Kirito, "What bout you?"

Kirito hmm'd, looking over the choices, before he nodded and looked at the cashier, "I'll have a chocolate then."

The cashier nodded and he quickly went to get the orders before handing them to the respective customers.

As Kirito took his ice cream, the teen moved to take out his money, but was stopped as Liena lightly slapped his arm, her purse already in hand, "I told its my treat, okay?"

Kirito blinked before he nodded in defeat, "Alright..."

Liena nodded and paid the cashier, who took the money and gave Kirito a pitying glance, who just smiled awkwardly, fortunately both which were gone unnoticed by the Sortiliena.

Shortly after, the pair of mentor/Valet were at a table. After a short moment of silence, Liena asked, "So, Kirito, I'm curious, is there someone you like?"

Kirito's eyes widened, and it was only by luck that he managed not to choke on his ice cream. The teen coughed, before he cleared his throat and answered, "No... Not really, why?"

Liena smiled, "Nothing much, just curious."

Kirito nodded, not trusting himself to speak, lest he say something wrong. But before he could continue thinking, he felt a sharp pain in his head, and images for four girls flashed in his mind, one with long chestnut coloured hair, the second with short brown hair, the third with short black hair, and the last one with long blonde hair in twin tails.

Kirito grunted/growled in pain, he still didn't know why those four girls kept appearing in his mind. He had no idea who they were, but it still felt like he should know them, and it was getting very annoying.

But before he could further think on that, Kirito was brought back to reality when Liena's voice reached his ears, "Kirito? Is there something wrong?"

Kirito blinked, shrugging off the stinging pain in his head and nodded, "It's nothing."

Liena stared at the teen for a while, not buying his answer one bit. She could clearly see that he was in pain just a moment ago.

The young woman sighed, "Alright, but just make sure to get enough rest, okay?"

Kirito grinned and spoke out proudly, "Of course, I'll sleep in if I can."

Liena sighed and shook her head, though she still had a smile on her face, "As long as you're not slacking off, then I don't care."

Kirito's grin then turned into a sly grin, "What about you, senpai, anyone you like?"

Liena blinked, before her face took on a slight red hue. The young woman glanced away, obviously embarrassed, "No comment on that."

Kirito chuckled, "Sure, sure."

The woman cleared her thoughts, calming herself, before she looked back at Kirito, her face turning serious, "By the way, I've been meaning to ask you, what are you planning to do after you graduate?"

The younger man blinked, "Eh?"

Liena smiled, "You're not from a noble family, so it's not like you're being forced to join the academy like most of them are. And you don't seem like someone who wants to be a knight just for money and fame."

Kirito closed his eyes, contemplating if he should tell her or not. After a short moment, Kirito opened his eyes, "There's someone within the Central Cathedral that I have to see, no matter what. And becoming a knight could help me do that."

Liena blinked, she totally didn't expect an answer like that. But it did make sense, Kirito was someone who do something like that after all.

The woman smiled, "I see... I'm sure you can do it."

Kirito smiled back, "Thank you, Liena-senpai."

Liena nodded, placing her finished cup of ice cream on the table, before she glanced at Kirito again, "By the way, I know I said I won't pry, but when will you show me your full strength?"

Kirito blinked, considering the question. Now that he thought about it, if he were in Sortiliena's place, he would have felt disappointed, if not offended, that his mentee was holding back the entire time they trained.

The teen nodded, "I promise I'll show you my full strength, Liena-senpai, just not so soon."

Liena resisted the urge to sigh again, but considering it was Kirito, she guessed she just had to take it, "Fine. But you better show it to me before I graduate, okay?"

Kirito grinned, "Of course!"

The older woman smiled softly, before she looked at the clock tower and turned to Kirito as she stood up, "Alright, I guess that's it for today, go home and get some sleep. I'll see you again tomorrow."

Kirito nodded, "Roger that, senpai."

Liena smiled as she turned and left the area for her house, and Kirito also turned to head back to his apartment.

(linebreak)

Four months later, Kirito sat in his room, taking down notes from his classes in the academy. Contrary to belief, the academy wasn't just about swordsplay and combat.

Considering the academy was also training the students to become knights, the students were also required to study the ethics that would be practiced if they were to be knights, as well as other information required for whatever path they chose.

They also had year-end exams, one to test their knowledge on everything they learned throughout the year, and another practical test to ensure the students all have a certain level of skill in weaponry.

And those exams were closing in, specifically two months away.

Back to the present, Kirito finished taking down his notes, placing his pencil down as he stretched his arms.

The teen looked out of the window, looking down the streets. Eugeo had gone off with Gorgolosso for some errands, Yuuki and the others were out doing their own thing, and Liena was hanging out with her own friends, so it left the teen alone.

Kirito let out a breath, as his mentor came to his mind. Over the months, Kirito had started taking the sparring matches more seriously. He didn't go all out, but he had held back lesser than he did before, and Liena always found herself hard pressed in their sparrings.

It also changed her attitude towards him. In the beginning, it was mostly care from a senior to her junior. But after he started taking the matches more seriously, it turned into respect, and possibly admiration and attraction.

In fact, compared to before, Sortiliena would give him less pointers, instead, she discussed many points of improvement with him for both of them.

Overall, he pretty much became a lot closer to the brunette throughout the months, and it also prompted Eugeo and the others to tease him more about his relationship with Liena.

While Kirito wouldn't admit it in public, he did find his mentor attractive, and he wasn't against having a relationship with his senior.

Kirito let out a breath, pushing away those thoughts as he let himself fall onto his bed. He would cross the bridge when it came, and he needed a nap anyways.

(meanwhile)

Meanwhile, Liena was at a cafe with Ran and another Elite Swordsman, a man from East Centoria, Sumeragi.

Ran asked, as she took a sip from her iced coffee, "So, how's it going with your Valets?"

Sumeragi huffed, "My Valet is too relaxed, her skill with her spear is exceptional, but her attitude needs some work."

Liena smiled at the man, "You know, Seven isn't wrong, _you_ , however, need to lighten up, take stuff less seriously."

Sumeragi hmph'd, "There's nothing wrong with taking everything seriously, it helps me focus anyways."

The man closed his eyes, a small grin tugging at his lips, "Though, I suppose I could let her have her fun sometimes."

Ran and Liena both smiled, and Liena asked, "What about you, Ran?"

The shorter brunette grinned, "Me? Well, I guess pretty much the same? Yuuki's still the same, and she's improved quite a lot from when we started."

Sumeragi nodded, "I see. What about your Valet, Liena?"

Ran grinned, "This I wanna hear, ya know, Yuuki and her friends pretty much ship the both of you."

Liena resisted the urge to blush, "We're not like that!"

The brunette took a moment to calm down, "At least, I don't think he sees me like that."

Sumeragi had a small smirk tugging his lips, and he said, "So you so admit you like him then?"

Liena's face turned redder, and she glared at him lightly, "And since when did you start teasing people about things like this?"

The man chuckled, "Ever since we got our Valets, and after we found out you preferred younger men."

Ran grinned, "Liena and her shotacon tendencies aside, are you gonna tell Kirito? I mean, he's quite cute, and I'm pretty sure there're some girls out there who like him."

Liena growled, resisting the urge to scream as she palmed her face, "You know what, I give up."

The two just laughed at the taller brunette's expense, well, Ran laughed, Sumeragi just smiled amusedly.

And after a short moment, Sumeragi's face turned serious, "But jokes aside, I was thinking of having a joint training session. Its been a while since we had that, right?"

Ran nodded with a grin, "Yeah! I'm up for it!"

Liena smiled softly, more happy that they finally changed topics, "Sure, it has been a while since we trained together after all."

Ran grinned, "That settles it then! I'll tell Gorgolosso and we'll set a date, kay?"

The two agreed, and they spent the day catching up.

(linebreak)

A week later, Kirito, Eugeo, Yuuki, Sortiliena, Ran, Gorgolosso, Sumeragi and a young girl with silver hair were in one of the larger training halls.

As the four Valets stood in front of their mentors, Sumeragi spoke, "Alright, we've been planning this for a while now, so here's what we're gonna do. We'll pair up randomly, and then spar for half an hour or so, then switch partners, is that clear?"

The four Valets, along with their mentors, all nodded in understanding, and Sortiliena spoke, "Alright, we'll start pairing up, and then see where that takes us."

In the end, Gorgolosso paired up with Yuuki, Eugeo with Sortiliena, Ran with Seven, and Kirito with Sumeragi.

With Kirito and Sumeragi, the older swordsman brought out his sheathed sword, drawing it, earning Kirito's attention.

The bluenette grinned slightly, "Ah, I'm from East Centoria, and these are really hard to come by, so you probably haven't seen this type of sword before. It's called -"

"A katana."

Sumeragi's eyes widened slightly as Kirito cut him off, the younger man's eyes not leaving the sword.

Kirito then commented, "I... I don't know, I feel like I've seen katanas before, but I haven't. Though, your sword, its a really good one."

Kirito grinned at Sumeragi, "If I didn't have my own sword, I'd say I envy you."

The older man laughed, "You're not so bad yourself."

Sumeragi pointed to the black blade in Kirito's hands, "That sword, I can tell it's one of a kind, right?"

Kirito glanced at his own one-handed blade, "Yeah, I had a great blacksmith forge it for me."

Sumeragi nodded, "I see."

The man then cleared his throat, "I suppose that's enough talk. Liena has spoken highly of you, let's put that to the test, shall we?"

Sumeragi slid into a stance, and Kirito smirked as he too held his sword up, "Yeah!"

The older man smirked, and in the blink of an eye, both of them vanished, only to reappear in the middle of the hall clashing blades.

As the two traded blows, Liena shook her head with a smile, "Those two..."

The woman looked at Eugeo, "Well, I suppose we should start too, what do you think?"

Eugeo just chuckled as he saw Kirito clashing blades with Sumeragi, "Ermm, sure."

Liena smiled, "Don't worry, you'll do just fine."

Eugeo took a breath and positioned his Blue Rose Sword in front of him and nodded, "Okay..."

Liena smiled, holding up her rapier, before she charged towards Eugeo, who prepared himself.

Soon, everyone started to train, sparring against each other.

Back to Kirito and Sumeragi, the older man had to give it to the younger man. Sure, he was probably one of the weaker ones amongst the Elite Swordsman-in-Training, but he definitely wasn't a pushover.

Yet here was Kirito, going toe to toe against him. Granted, he wasn't going all out, but he was also pretty sure Kirito was holding back quite a bit. And even if Kirito wasn't holding back, being able to go against him was a feat in itself.

The older swordsman took a breath, and in the next moment, he charged towards his junior, swinging his katana from above.

Kirito's eyes easily followed the swing, and in response, he swung his blade upwards from his waist, clashing against the katana.

The clash from the two strong swings caused a huge rebound, forcing both swordsmen back several steps.

But as soon as they regained their footing, Kirito and Sumeragi charged each other again.

Kirito grinned, feeling himself having fun as he traded strikes with his senior. Then, as he forced Sumeragi away with a slash against the katana, he noticed everyone else watching them.

Sumeragi also noticed it, and he smirked slightly at Kirito, "Seems like we have a small audience, wanna give them a show?"

At that moment, Kirito froze for a very brief moment, and he nodded, "Y-yeah."

He cursed himself for getting carried away, Kirito didn't really want to show his real strength, at least not yet. The teen sighed mentally, well, he could reveal a bit more of his strength.

Kirito stared at Sumeragi again, and both charged.

Again, the both of them clashed blades, slash, parry, slash and parry. Kirito and Sumeragi smirked at each other, enjoying the thrill of having an equal as an opponent, though moreso for Sumeragi than Kirito.

Soon, the two men were panting and full of sweat. Sumeragi smirked, "I'm impressed, I'm not holding back at all, and you're keeping up with me."

Kirito grinned, "I'll take that as a compliment then."

Sumeragi smirked, "Let's end this then, what do you think?"

Kirito's grin widened, "Yeah."

At the same time, both swordsmen slid into a stance, Kirito moving for the Slant skill, while Sumeragi moving for one of his family's sword techniques.

Sumeragi spoke, "Youta Family Style : Cresent Slash."

As the man activated his sword skill, Kirito's eyes widened as he, for some reason, recognised it, yet he was sure he had never seen a katana in his life, much less seeing a sword skill, but still, he knew what was coming, a cresent shaped slash, be it vertical or horizontal, or even diagonal.

The sword skill, Gengetsu, or Phantom Moon.

Kirito quickly shook away those thoughts, as he too announced his skill, "Aincrad Style: Slant!"

Liena, Ran, Gorgolosso and Sumeragi were slightly surprised, regardless of Kirito's words, they easily recognised his stance, being identical to the Zakkalight style's Azure Wind Slash.

Sumeragi brushed off those thoughts, deciding to focus on ending the spar, and before any of the others could continue their thoughts, both Kirito and Sumeragi dashed forward.

After a moment, with a loud clang, followed by a softer sound of metal, both swordsman were in front of each other, with Sumeragi's sword at Kirito's neck, while Kirito's sword on the ground.

Sumeragi let out a breath, lowering his sword, and extended a hand to Kirito, "That was a great spar, thanks, Kirito."

Kirito grinned and shook the man's hand, "Thanks, Sumeragi-senpai."

The man nodded, and after that, they continued sparring, changing partners occasionally until the day ended.

Unknown to them, one Volo Levantein smirked in the shadows, before he turned and walked away, 'Kirito, huh... An interesting one...'

(linebreak)

Three days later, Kirito was in one of the open training areas in the academy grounds training.

The area was actually one of the lesser known, more isolated training areas in the academy. In fact, saying that no one knew about it would be pretty much correct.

The reason why Kirito was training there, was because today was a 'rest' day, where students were not allowed to train, or rather, forced to rest their bodies.

Most of the students just followed along with the rule, while some students trained secretly, like how Kirito was doing now.

As Kirito practised several of his sword skills to make sure he wasn't rusty, unknown to him, one Volo Levantein was watching him behind the trees.

Volo stared at the younger man practising his skills, and truthfully, he was impressed. Kirito showed next to no flaws, even if he was just practicing his sword swings, and each swing was precise, not a movement wasted.

Then the man's face morphed into a smirk, he could use this to further strengthen his own skills, and what better way than to take down someone like Kirito?

The man's smirked widened, and he watched Kirito's movements, trying to predict when he would walk out.

To Kirito, the teen had finished revising his more simple skills, meaning the skills that had lesser hits.

Letting out a breath, Kirito stretched his arms, "Alright, time for the next ones!"

The teen pulled his sword back, and began to swing his sword, until he heard a voice, "What are you doing?"

On instict, Kirito turned, his sword swinging in the same direction, until he caught himself and stopped as soon as he could, right before he noticed Volo standing in front of him, a speck of dirt on his shirt, obviously from Kirito's huge movements.

Kirito's face paled. Sure, Liena, Sumeragi and most of his seniors were very much easy going, but he knew there were some of the older students who didn't tolerate non-nobles attending the academy, or rather, they looked down upon them. Volo didn't look down upon the non-nobles, but he was a very serious person.

Furthermore, the Elite Swordsman-in-Training had powerpower to punish the junior students, if they did something out of hand. That included dirtying their uniform.

Volo glanced down, easily noticing the speck of dirt on his white shirt. The man held back a smirk from seeing Kirito's face, before he spoke seriously, "Your name is Kirito, right?"

Kirito nodded frantically, "Yes sir!"

Volo stared at the younger man straight in the eye, "You didn't answer my question. What were you doing?"

The younger man smiled nervously, "Ermm, I was training?"

Volo hmm'd as he nodded, but he was actually trying his best not to laugh at the younger man's expression, "Today is a day off, you're technically not supposed to be training."

Kirito paled, "I'm very sorry, Levantein-senpai! I just couldn't help myself and..."

The teen started to ramble, and Volo almost cracked a smirk. Almost.

The head seat of the Elite Swordsman-in-Training held up a palm, silencing Kirito, "I'll overlook you training on a free day."

Kirito visibly relaxed, but Volo's next words got him stiffened again, "But I can't overlook you dirtying my clothes."

The older man pointed to the speck of dirt on his uniform before brushing it away with his fingers, "As such, your punishment, will be to have an all out spar with me, full contact."

Kirito blinked, "That's... it?"

Volo smirked, "Your spar with Sumeragi caught my attention, and I'm curious to how you fare against me."

Kirito opened his mouth, but Volo silenced him with a stern glare, "This is your punishment, got it?"

Kirito nodded defeatedly, "Yes sir."

Volo smirked, "Hmph, we'll use our real swords while we're at it, got that?"

Kirito just nodded as the taller man turned and walked away, "I expect you to be at the main training hall tomorrow at two in the afternoon."

The young man just scratched his head as he watched the older swordsman walk away.

(linebreak)

Later that evening, Kirito was eating dinner with Liena, Gorgolosso, Eugeo, Yuuki, Ran, Sumeragi, Tecchi, Siune, Nori, Jun and Talken.

Liena gaped as she heard what Kirito had just told them, before she shouted, "YOU WHAT?"

Ran smiled forcefully as she tried to calm the taller brunette down, "Liena, I don't think its that bad, I mean, its just a spar, right?"

Liena frowned at arguably her best friend, "Yes, a spar, but you don't know Volo like I do, he won't hesitate to hurt him even in a spar, especially if he specifically wanted to have a full contact spar."

Sumeragi sighed, "Liena, calm down, I'm sure Kirito can handle it, he's not a kid you know."

Talken spoke up, "Umm, sorry, but is this Volo that scary?"

Ran looked at the younger teen and nodded, "He's the head seat among the twelve of us. Liena has tried to defeat him, but he always takes her down with his strongest skill."

Liena nodded, "The Heaven and Mountain Splitting Wave/Tenzan Reppa. I just can't seem to find a way to avoid it. The hit itself is terrifying, I tried to block it, but it just smashed down on me. Dodging it won't work as the force causes a shock wave that disorients you. "

Gorgolosso nodded, "Yeah, I've felt it before too. The pure power in the strike was off the charts."

Jun spoke up, nervousness in his voice, "But I don't think he'll use that, right? I mean, its just a normal spar."

Tecchi shook his head, "No, from what Kirito has told us, Volo wants to test him, so I think he'd use it."

Yuuki rested her head on her arm, "Though what are you all getting so worked up for? Look at Kirito, he's not even bothered by this."

Eugeo chuckled, she was right, Kirito didn't look scared or nervous at all. Well, that was expected, considering Bercouli was much more terrifying than what Volo could offer.

The blonde said, "I think Kirito will do just fine, to be honest."

Siune commented, "Are you sure? Kirito is strong, but this is the head seat of the Elite Swordsman-in-Training we're talking about."

Nori grinned, "Eh, chillax guys, its just a spar, at worst Kirito will only be maimed."

Kirito stared at the girl with a deadpanned face, "Gee, thanks for the support."

Nori just grinned at him, giving him a thumbs up. Liena sighed, turning to Kirito, "I guess it can't be helped. Just do your best, we won't think any less of you regardless of what happens."

The teen nodded, "Thank you, Liena-senpai."

Ran smiled and spoke up, "Alright, enough with that! The food's getting cold."

Everyone blinked, noticing they were right, before they continued their meal, having small talk on other topics.

(linebreak)

The next day, Kirito was standing in front of Volo in the main training hall. But they weren't alone, on the seats around them, were all students from both years.

Kirito commented, glancing around the seats, "Hmm, quite a lot of people here."

Volo nodded, "I apologise, I had intended this to be between the two of us, but apparently things got out of hand, and everyone believes this is an exhibition match."

Liena frowned as she stood behind Kirito. It was pretty obvious Volo had spread the word about their little spar, possibly to make sure everyone witnessed his power.

Kirito nodded, "It can't be helped then."

Volo nodded, and Kirito started to walk towards the center of the ring, but before he could, Liena grabbed Kirito by the shoulder, pulling him to a side.

Kirito blinked, "Liena-senpai?"

The older woman sighed, "I still don't think this is a good idea, but I'll just have to believe in you."

Kirito blinked and he grinned, "Of course."

Liena nodded, "But before go, I want to tell you one more thing, about Volo."

Kirito blinked, "Eh?"

The young woman nodded and said, "Soak your blade in the blood of the mighty, doing so will make your power your own."

The black haired teen blinked, "What does that mean?"

Liena glanced at Volo, who was waiting patiently, before looking back at Kirito, "It's Volo's family motto, by defeating powerful enemies, you make their power your own. It also means Volo views you as a threat."

Kirito nodded, "I see."

The woman smiled and patted Kirito's shoulders, "Regardless, I believe that you won't fall to him that easily."

Kirito saw the pure belief in her eyes, and he was actually surprised to see that she believed in him that much. The teen closed his eyes, and he nodded, before opening them, "Yeah..."

He turned to face Volo, before he turned his head back to Liena again, "Liena-senpai, you wanted to know what my full strength is like, didn't you? I was actually hoping to show you when you graduated, but I suppose I can show you now."

Liena blinked, before she sighed with a smile, shaking her head, "Fine... Don't disappoint me then."

The woman then turned to walk up to the seats, but before she could, Volo called out, "Elite Disciple Serlut, would you mind serving as a witness for this match?"

Liena turned to Volo, glancing at Kirito, before she nodded, "Alright."

The woman walked over, standing them, "As agreed by both parties, the match will be carried out with real swords."

The audience immediately erupted into murmurs, surprised that they were using real swords.

Liena paused a while, before she announced again, "If both sides are ready, you may begin!"

Immediately, both Volo and Kirito drew their swords, dropping their sheaths to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, Kirito appeared in front of Volo, surprising the larger man. The teen swung his sword, and Volo was forced to parry his strikes several times before Kirito had to jump away to avoid a horizontal slash.

The older man held back a smirk, Kirito was much better than he expected, but he couldn't let anyone know that.

Deciding it would be worth it, Volo raised his sword up high above his head, mana flowing through his body as his sword glowed brightly with orange.

The movement shocked many who knew Volo, or those who were familiar with his fighting style.

Up on the seats, Sumeragi spoke in shock, "He's using it so early?!"

Gorgolosso, Ran and the other senior students all shared the same thoughts, but Eugeo just looked at his brother confidently.

Down beside the ring, Liena's eyes widened, as she saw the familiar stance. She clenched her fists, preparing to intervene if things got out of hand.

To Kirito, he could feel the power radiating off of the man. And again, somehow, he knew what was coming, and exactly how to counter it.

Kirito's mind raced as he thought, 'That skill is a high overhead downward slash, dodging it is out of question, and blocking is pure suicide. No, I'll have to counter it with a multi-hit skill.'

The younger swordsman pulled his sword back, causing it to glow blue as he announced, "Aincrad style : Vertical Square."

Volo heard his announcement, and decided to follow suit, "High-Norkia style: Tenzan Reppa."

In the next instant, Kirito and Volo both dashed forward, meeting at the center of the ring.

As Volo swung his sword down, to the less experienced students, Kirito seemed to blur, but to the more experienced second year students, they could see what Kirito was doing.

As Volo's sword came down, Kirito swung his sword downwards, striking Volo's blade. Not wasting a split second, Kirito pulled his blade up, striking it again, before he turned, swinging his sword down again, fully clashing against Volo's blade.

As the teen pushed against the older man, Kirito cursed, he had failed to make the fourth hit, but he had to work with what he had, if he could withstand this clash, then he could still pull off one more slash, and he could win.

With Volo, the man was frankly impressed and surprised. Almost everyone he had used this move against, they would attempt to block or dodge it, but none had ever done what Kirito was doing.

And to the thrill of the man, Volo was actually having fun with just pushing his blade against Kirito.

Kirito gritted his teeth, feeling Volo's sword slowly pushing him down. The teen's eyes then widened, as he saw over a thousand silhouettes behind Volo.

Kirito thought, 'Is that what he's been shouldering? The burden and expectations of his family?'

Kirito winced as Volo's blade pushed him down further, before he caught sight of Eugeo, Liena and Yuuki's worried faces.

The teen's eyes widened, as he realized they were all watching him. And he felt something spark within him.

Using all his strength, Kirito pushed upwards, causing Volo's eyes to widen as they were back to the position when they had clashed blades.

That wasn't all. Kirito was actually pushing him back, and for a brief moment, Volo saw a huge tree behind Kirito, followed by a silhouette of a giant knight behind it.

Then, Kirito pushed one last time, and Volo grunted in shock as he was pushed skidding back across the ring.

Immediately, the crowd roared, excited that a first year student had managed to win against Volo of all people in a contest of strength.

Volo grunted, retaking his stance, 'I was wrong about him. He's way stronger than what I expected.'

Kirito let out a breath, also retaking his stance. Truthfully, that had taken more than he had expected, and he was quite tired.

He glanced at Volo, and the man only looked slightly winded. He had to end it quickly, or Volo would use the Tenzan Reppa again.

In the blink of an eye, Kirito was in front of Volo once again, his sword poised to strike.

Volo growled silently, forcing himself to pull his blade up just in time to block the attack, before he flailed wildly in an attempt to push Kirito away.

The teen easily jumped back, dodging the wild swings, before he charged again, clashing blades with Volo once again..

The older man also noticed, Kirito always used overhead strikes, and it was pretty obvious what he was doing, especially to the senior students.

The younger swordsman had a significant advantage in the form of speed, and so Kirito would use that to get close, and slash from above, forcing Volo to always have his blade down low to counter his attacks, effectively stopping him from preparing his skill.

Volo didn't know if he should be impressed, or annoyed and frustrated that he was having trouble with a freshman.

After clashing blades several more times, Kirito jumped away, analysing Volo's stance. The older man was breathing heavily, obviously tired from their bouts. Kirito looked around, and he decided he should end it.

Taking a deep breath, Kirito pulled his sword back, "Aincrad style: Horizontal Square."

Before Volo could react, Kirito was already in front of him. The older man's eyes widened, as Kirito swung his sword, and it was only due to experience, that he had managed to block the slash.

But Kirito wasn't done. Using the momentum, he pulled the sword back, slashing at Volo again, which was blocked again.

Fortunately, the slash had pushed Volo's sword aside, and before Volo could move, Kirito was already behind the man.

And in the next instant, Volo felt Kirito's blade on his neck, "Do you yield?"

Volo's face was one of shock. He could barely keep up with what had just happened, and Kirito was already behind him, blade at his neck.

The head of the Elite Swordsman-in-Training sighed, lowering his blade in defeat, "Yeah, its my loss. You win."

Immediately, the whole audience exploded into cheers. Furthermore, most, if not all of the other 11 Elite Swordsman-in-Training were shocked.

Volo had been the strongest one amongst them, and here, Kirito, had just defeated him fair and square. Even Liena was shocked such that she forgot to announce the winner.

Back to the ring, Kirito lowered his sword as Volo turned to him. The older swordsman smirked, extending a hand to him, "This was supposed to be a punishment, but it became a lesson for me instead. It was a very good match, I thank you, Kirito."

Kirito blinked several times, before he shook the man's hand firmly. Volo then pulled Kirito closer, "Next time, try not to get dirt on other people's clothes, alright?"

Kirito blinked, as Volo smirked at him once more, before the older man left the ring, leaving Kirito alone.

After a short moment, Kirito noticed Liena approaching him. The teen smiled sheepishly, "Liena-senpai, I guess I won?"

The woman didn't respond, and Kirito was about to ask her what was wrong, before his eyes widened as the woman hugged him.

Kirito blinked, "L-Liena-senpai?"

The woman let go of him and smiled brightly, "That was amazing. You won, against Volo! Of all people! You have no idea how proud I am."

Kirito chuckled sheepishly, "Well..."

Liena's smile then turned into a predatory glare, "But don't you dare hold back during our spars next time, got that?"

Kirito sweated lightly at her glare and nodded quickly, "Yes ma'am!"

The woman nodded, "Good, now, we should celebrate your win, alright?"

Kirito just chuckled, not really seeing the point of it since it was just a spar, but decided not to say anything and just go with it.

XXX

Done! So yeah, that's the 64th chapter.

Kirito won against Volo, yay for that. And some development between Liena and Kirito.

So the next chapter will be Liena's graduation etc, then Ronye and Tiesse's debut. Also, we'll be moving further into the Underworld arc.

So yeah, review please. Until next time.


	65. Chapter 65

Yo, this is the 65th chapter.

So I have decided Kirito would have a harem in the Underworld. As with the harem has four members in the Elemental Nations, I don't want the harem to grow too big, preferably under 7 girls.

So for now, the confirmed ones are Sortiliena and Ronye.

As such, I will consider adding a third girl. And as I said I will bring Rain in, but she will not be a harem member, as I want Rain to take on more of a sister relationship with Kirito and Eugeo.

So if there is a third member, it will be Alice, or no 3rd harem member from the UW at all. So, what do you guys think?

Should I have Alice be with Kirito, along with Liena and Ronye? Or have Alice be with Eugeo, along with Tiesse and Selka?

So yeah, gimme your opinions, and with that aside, here's the chapter.

XXX

A few days later, Liena was leaning against one of the railings on the balcony on one of the higher floors in the academy.

After Kirito had defeated Volo, they had went to celebrate his victory, even though the young man himself had said it wasn't necessary.

But everyone wanted to, in fact, it was necessary to them, as Kirito was a first year student, and Volo was a second year student, the head of the Elite Swordsman-in-Training, to top it off.

The woman let out a breath. She closed her eyes, replaying the scene where Kirito easily out maneuvered the strongest swordsman in the academy.

The woman wouldn't lie, she was somewhat jealous of her Valet. For months, ever since they started attending the academy, Liena had been trying hard to surpass Volo Levantein.

Whenever she had the chance, Liena would challenge Volo to a spar. Not once, had she came out the victor.

Yet here was Kirito, a man that was at least a year younger than she was, a first year student, not from a noble family, instead from the edge of Centoria itself, coming into the academy and defeating Volo.

Sortiliena was very proud of her Valet, that was evident. But that small part of her just couldn't help but feel jealous of him.

The woman sighed, it just felt so complicated when it came to Kirito. She cared for him very much, the time they spent as mentor and valet had forged a bond between them, that was obvious, but she still didn't know how she really felt.

Before Liena could continue, a voice broke her from her thoughts, "What are you doing here, Liena?"

The brunette turned her head, noticing Ran standing behind her. Liena smiled softly, "Hey."

Ran smiled back, before noticing her friend's face, and she asked, her smile fading, "What's wrong?"

Liena looked back over the streets, "It's nothing, really, just some stuff on my mind."

Ran went to stand beside Liena, leaning on the railings as well, "Is it about Kirito?"

The taller woman's eyes widened, and she immediately started to deny, "W-what?! No! Why would I be thinking about Kirito?!"

Ran smiled slyly, "Yup, you are thinking about him."

Liena blinked, gaping at her, before she sighed and shook her head. After a short pause, Liena nodded, "I suppose I am..."

Ran nodded, before she asked, "Wanna talk about it?"

The taller girl hesitated for a moment, before she nodded, "You know Kirito defeated Volo, right?"

Ran nodded before she asked, "Yeah, why?"

Liena let out a breath, "The past year, I've been trying my best, doing everything I could so that I could beat him... But..."

The shorter brunette nodded, "But Kirito, your valet and junior, came out of nowhere and defeated him in less than ten minutes."

The second seat of the Elite Swordsman-in-Training nodded silently. Ran sighed, "You know, I won't say I understand how you feel, but just go get him to spar with you at full strength then."

Liena blinked, "W-what?"

Ran smiled, "You feel lost, because someone beat you to defeating Volo. Then all you need to do is fight the one who defeated Volo, right?"

Liena blinked. She blinked again, and she palmed her face, "I'm an idiot."

Ran grinned before she asked, "But seriously, what do you think of him?"

Liena looked at her friend confusedly, "What do you mean?"

Ran's smile softened, "You care for Kirito more than just a friend, right?"

The taller woman blushed and she looked away, "What are you talking about?!"

Ran sighed, the smile not leaving her face, "You know, I know how you look at him when you think no one is looking."

Liena's blush darkened, before she asked, "Why are we even bringing this up?!"

Ran's face turned serious, "Because Kirito is going places, and he's going far. You should know as well as I do. And when he does, I don't want you to regret anything."

Liena closed her eyes. Ran wasn't wrong. Kirito had a very bright future laid out for him, he may have came from a very small village, but he was guaranteed to reach high places as a knight.

As for Liena herself, sure, her parents would let her serve as a knight or swordswoman for a short while, but then she'd most likely be married off to a noble to strengthen ties between her family and another noble.

The woman sighed and lowered her head, "I'm... confused, to be honest..."

Ran stayed silent, letting her friend continue. Liena let out a breath, "In the beginning, Kirito was like the little brother I never had, but then I found out he was holding back, and I urged him to show me everything he could do."

The woman closed her eyes, "But then time passed, and I got to know him more..."

Ran nodded, "And he wasn't exactly what you thought he would be."

Liena smiled, "Better than what I thought he would be. He's humble, his dream is simple but admirable, and..."

The shorter brunette nodded, "You feel drawn to him."

The taller woman nodded, "I suppose so."

Ran nodded, before she glanced at Liena, "So, what are you gonna do about it?"

The young lady blinked at her friend, "What?"

Ran smiled slyly, "You've sorted out how you feel, so what are you gonna do about that?"

Liena blushed slightly and she looked over the streets, "I... don't know."

Ran turned, leaning her back against the railings instead, "Hmm..."

The girl grinned and looked at her friend, "How about you leave it to me?"

Liena blinked several times, "Huh?"

Ran's grin widened, "Meet up at the training hall tomorrow morning, and we'll help you get things going."

Liena only blinked in confusion as Ran left the balcony, leaving her alone again.

(linebreak)

The next day, Liena, Kirito and Ran were in their usual training hall. Kirito asked as they entered, "So, what's up?"

Ran grinned as they reached the center of the hall, "We're gonna have a bet."

Kirito and Liena blinked, the latter asking, "A bet?"

Ran nodded as she looked at Kirito, "Kirito, you defeated Volo, so how about you fight Liena without holding back?"

Kirito blinked, "Okay?"

Ran grinned, "And if you win, you'll go on a date with Liena, if you lose, you'll still go on a date with her."

Liena gaped at her friend, "W-what?! Don't I get a say in this?!"

The shorter girl just grinned, "Nope. Besides, you don't want to go on a date with Kirito?"

Liena froze momentarily, before her face lit up and she said quietly, "... Its not like I don't want to..."

Kirito only blinked, speechless, as Ran grinned, "Then that settles it! Kirito, if you win, you take her on the date, if you lose, you'll take her on a date AND do whatever she tells you to."

The younger man sighed mentally, it would seem that Ran was rather set on playing match-maker, and well, he guessed he just had to follow along.

Kirito nodded as he looked at his mentor, "Alright, so, Liena-senpai, how do you wanna do this?"

Liena shook out of her stupor and nodded, "If its okay with you, I would like to have a full contact spar with our real swords."

Kirito's eyes slightly widened before he nodded, "Okay.."

Liena nodded as she brought out her rapier and whip, as Kirito drew his Night Sky Sword.

Ran grinned, "Alright, so, considering this is an unofficial spar, I'll be the referee, alright?"

Both mentor/mentee nodded, and Ran announced, "Begin!"

Without another second, Liena dashed forward with her rapier, thrusting it forward. Kirito narrowed his eyes as he twisted his body, dodging the stab before he rolled away on the ground to avoid her whip.

The teen tried to regather himself but Liena didn't let up, stabbing at him when he was within her range, or using her whip when he wasn't.

Kirito tch'd, dodging another strike from the whip before he dashed forward, sending a downward slash to his mentor.

Liena dodged the slash, but before she could counter, Kirito spun, sending a horizontal slash at her. This time, the woman cursed, as her body couldn't dodge the attack in time.

Instead, she lifted her rapier, blocking the strike, careful to redirect it slightly so it wouldn't damage her sword too much.

But Kirito wasn't done, not letting up for even a split second, Kirito spun the opposite direction, sending a sweep kick at his mentor.

The woman never saw it coming, as she fell backwards. But Liena wouldn't be the second seat of the academy's elite students if she let that deter her.

With flexibility that almost seemed impossible, Liena flipped backwards, kicking Kirito in the chin at the same time as she backed away.

The teen stumbled backwards, rubbing his chin painfully as he glared lightly at his mentor, who only stared back passively, though he could see the not-so-apologetic glint in her eyes.

Kirito brandished his sword and charged, swinging it downwards. Liena, as expected, raised her rapier to redirect/block it, but to her surprise, Kirito merely glazed her blade as he swung down, before pulling it back up in the next split second.

That caught the young woman off guard, as she tried to recover herself from her open guard. But she was a tad bit too late, as Kirito's sword struck her own hard, sending her stumbling backwards.

Then, right as Liena managed to steady her footing, Kirito was in front of her yet again, but she had somewhat expected that to happen. As Kirito swung his blade, Liena leaned back just to dodge the slash, before she jumped away to avoid another slash.

The tall woman let out a breath, her eyes not leaving her junior at all. Not wanting to waste a second, Liena lashed her whip at Kirito, managing to somehow binding it to his sword arm at the wrist.

The teen grunted in surprise as Liena pulled, causing him to lurch forward to the ground.

Liena took advantage and tried to advance onto her Valet, but before she could position herself to make him yield, Kirito rolled back to his feet, right in front of her.

To her surprise, Kirito thrust his sword at her throat, but Liena quickly snapped out of her surprise and used her whip to pull Kirito off balance, sending him sprawling to the ground again.

The teen cursed himself for his carelessness as he gripped the whip with his left arm, slowly pulling himself back to his feet.

But before Kirito could stand up again, Liena charged forward with her sword. The younger man managed to block the strike, struggling against the whip and Liena's sword.

Kirito grunted, smirking, "This is getting really annoying, Liena-senpai."

The woman just smiled, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Kirito's smirk widened, "But that's the end of that."

Liena frowned before her eyes widened and she yelped as Kirito pulled back, rolling to the ground, flipping her onto the ground at the same time.

A rather unorthodox move, but it still worked anyway, as Liena lost her grip on her whip and Kirito quickly threw it away to a side, massaging his wrist as he did so.

Liena frowned, as she lost her other weapon. Kirito wouldn't let her get it back anyways, so she'd just have to fight with her rapier.

Deciding to go on offense before Kirito could do anything, the elder woman charged forward, thrusting her sword at his chest.

The teen gripped his sword with both hands, parrying the strike before he pulled his sword down at Liena's waist. But the woman was quick on her feet, jumping away to a side before Kirito could swing his blade.

Liena let out a breath as she stared at Kirito, who merely retook his stance, facing her.

After a few seconds, which seemed lime eternity for the both of them, Liena charged, allowing mana to flow into her blade, "Serlut style: Streak!"

As with most of the sword skills used by his seniors, Kirito immediately knew what was coming. A diagonal slash.

Pulling his legs back, positioning his sword at his waist facing downwards, and right as Liena's sword reached him, Kirito announced, "Aincrad style: Full Counter."

In that instant, Kirito pulled his blade up, the Night Sky sword glowing bright red, parrying Liena's sword, sending it flying out of her hand. But the skill did more than that.

Full Counter was a counter skill, one that reflected the enemies attack back at them with more than its full power. According to Bercouli, it could reflect not just physical attacks, but magical attacks as well. Though unfortunately, Kirito had yet to learn to deflect the latter.

Back to the fight, Liena's eyes widened, as she felt pain course through her body and fell backwards. Of course, as it was just a simple spar, Kirito didn't reflect all of the damage, only a quarter of it, but it was enough.

Before Liena realized it, Kirito had wrapped his arms around her waist, stopping her from falling any further. The woman blushed, before she realized Kirito had his sword pointed at her throat.

Kirito grinned, "I win, Liena-senpai."

The brunette was rather shocked at what just happened. But before she could say anything, they heard cheers coming from a side, and the two glanced over to that direction to see a small audience, some of them grinning slyly, Ran being one of them.

Only then did the two realize their current positions, causing both of their faces to heat up, and they quickly separated.

Liena cleared her throat as she said quietly, "Umm, thank you for the spar, Kirito."

Kirito nodded stiffly, "Y-yes, and ermm... Sorry for that."

Liena shook her head, "It's fine..."

As the two stood there awkwardly, Ran decided to help them and turned to the small audience and yelled, "Alright, show's over! Now get outta here!"

With little effort, the shorter brunette managed to get the small audience to leave the hall, and as she left the hall herself, at the door, Ran turned and yelled, "And Kirito, you still have to take Liena on that date, capiche?"

Kirito only nodded silently as Ran closed the door, leaving the pair alone again.

After a painful moment of silence, Kirito spoke up, "So umm, about what Ran-senpai said... I mean, we don't need to do it if you don't want to."

Liena's face heated up slightly, and she berated herself for feeling and acting like this. The young woman steeled herself and she shook her head, "No, I... I want to."

Kirito blinked, genuinely surprised when Liena looked at him straight in the eye. The teen felt his face heat up and he nodded, "O-okay."

Liena smiled, trying her best to stop herself from freaking out, "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, then, alright?"

Kirito nodded dumbly, "Y-yeah, I'll see you at the town square then."

Liena nodded and she quickly turned and left the hall, leaving Kirito alone in the hall, before the teen left to head for his room.

(linebreak)

Later that night, Eugeo and Kirito were in a restaurant, having dinner.

As they ate, Eugeo looked at his brother with a sly grin, "So, what's this about you going on a date with Liena-senpai?"

Kirito's eyes widened at the question and he coughed, almost choking on his food. The teen glared at his brother as he coughed to clear his throat, "W-why are you bringing that up?"

Eugeo chuckled as Kirito drank from his cup, "Well, it's not a secret that you challenged her to a spar for a date."

Kirito gaped before he denied, "That's not what happened! Ran-senpai put us up to it!"

Eugeo chuckled, "That's not what everyone says. In fact, I heard you ended the spar with her in your arms. Gotta say bro, not bad."

Kirito's face heated up, and he glared at Eugeo, "Just drop it!"

The blonde chuckled, taking a bite from his plate, "Sure sure..."

Kirito let out a breath as he put down his fork and spoon, "But to be honest, I have no idea what to do tomorrow."

Eugeo raised an eyebrow, "So you have nothing planned?"

Kirito shook his head, "I told you, Ran-senpai set it up."

The blonde wiped his mouth before he suggested, "Hmm, how bout we ask Yuuki then?"

Kirito blinked several times, before he said in a deadpanned manner, "No."

Eugeo furrowed his brows, "Eh? Why not?"

Kirito just went back to eating, "No. Just no."

Eugeo just chuckled with an amused grin as they quickly finished eating.

(Small linebreak)

After finishing their dinner, Kirito and Eugeo left the restaurant. As they walked, Eugeo asked, still grinning, "You sure you don't wanna ask Yuuki for help?"

Kirito frowned slightly, "No."

Eugeo's grin widened, "You sure?"

The black haired teen quickened his pace, "No."

Eugeo increased his footsteps to walk beside Kirito, "Really?"

Kirito growled, "Yes! Now drop it!"

Eugeo laughed before he spotted someone familiar walking on the streets, "Alright alright, we won't ask Yuuki for help, we'll ask Sumeragi-senpai."

Kirito blinked, "Wait, what?"

Before he could do anything, Eugeo jogged away. Kirito growled, "Dammit Eugeo!"

He was a tad bit too late, as Eugeo approached the older man, "Sumeragi-senpai!"

The bluenette blinked, "Hmm, oh, hey."

The blonde stopped in front of the katana user, "Sumeragi-senpai, we need your help."

The tall man raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

The two heard Kirito yell as the teen ran to them, "It's nothing! Eugeo shut up!"

The black haired teen tried to grab his brother to keep him quiet, but the blonde, in an impressive display of hand-to-hand, managed to keep Kirito away as he grinned at Sumeragi, "Well, Kirito's gonna take Liena-senpai on a date tomorrow, but he has no idea what to do."

Kirito sighed, slumping and releasing his hold on his brother. As he did so, Sumeragi gave him an amused smile, "Oh, yeah, I heard about that. Well, good job, Kirito, don't worry, we'll help you sort things out."

Kirito blinked, "We?"

(Small linebreak)

That lead their current situation. Gorgolosso, Eugeo, Kirito and Sumeragi were in Eugeo and Kirito's room at the table.

Kirito resisted the urge to facepalm, "Why are we doing this actually?"

Eugeo snapped his head at his brother in mock surprise, "Kirito! We're helping you plan what you should do with Liena-senpai on your date tomorrow!"

Sumeragi stared at him with an amused smirk. To be frank he was just here to mess with the teen, but hey, it wouldn't hurt to actually help the guy out.

As for Gorgolosso, he was just dragged in by Sumeragi and Eugeo, though he decided he'd just help Kirito out, even if he wouldn't be of much help.

Kirito sighed, "So, what do you guys have in mind?"

Sumeragi and Eugeo grinned, while Gorgolosso chuckled as they started discussing.

(linebreak)

Meanwhile, Liena was facing a similar predicament in her own room, with Ran, Seven and Yuuki.

Ran grinned, "So, what're you planning to do tomorrow?"

Liena sighed, "I... have no idea."

Seven rested her head on her arm, "Well, that is, if Kirito doesn't have anything planned..."

Yuuki laughed lightly, "Knowing him, I doubt it, but who knows? Maybe he'll pull out something nice? I mean, its Liena-senpai we're talking about."

Liena just blushed, and tried to hide herself into her blouse. Ran laughed, "Well, probably, but we have something more important."

Liena glanced at her friend confusedly, "What do you mean?"

Ran grinned, "You need something nice to wear."

Seven's face lit up, "Definitely! Let's see what you have."

Liena wanted to protest, but her two friends had already gone to her wardrobe, tossing out a number of her uniforms as they searched for clothing.

Yuuki just laughed at the taller brunette who just sighed before they joined to make sure Ran and Seven didn't destroy the room.

(linebreak)

The next day, Kirito was at the two square, wearing a simple hoodie and long pants.

The teen was rather nervous, not sure if what he planned would turn out fine.

But before he could further ponder on his plans, he heard Liena's voice, "Kirito?"

The teen blinked, and he turned to see Liena, wearing a simple violet dress with her hair let down. Kirito froze, before mentally smacking himself in the head and spoke, "Hey, Liena-senpai, y-you look great."

Sortiliena resisted the urge to blush as she suddenly found the ground very interesting, "T-thanks..."

The young woman forced herself to look up again and said, "So, shall we go?"

Kirito nodded, before the two walked beside each other with a slightly awkward atmosphere.

(meanwhile)

At a corner behind a building, Ran, Yuuki, Seven, Eugeo, Sumeragi, Gorgolosso, Tecchi, Jun, Talken, Nori and Siune were spying on the pair.

Jun grumbled, "Why are we here?"

Nori glared at the teen, "Shut it, we don't wanna let them know we're watching them."

Talken sighed, "More like spying on them... Seriously, just let them enjoy their time alone."

Sumeragi chuckled, leaning on the wall, "Just give up, they'll drag you everywhere until they get a boyfriend themselves, which, might not happen in some time now."

Ran glared at her classmate, "Did you say anything, Sumeragi?"

The blue haired man smiled nervously from the glare, "N-no..."

Ran nodded with satisfaction as she turned back to watch them, only to find them gone. The brunette glared at the man, "See! Now we lost them! Let's go!"

Sumeragi sighed, "And now its my fault."

As everyone moved, Gorgolosso and Eugeo patted the man on the shoulder, with the former commenting, "And that is why we stay silent and follow them. It's a free day for us anyways."

Sumeragi sighed, ignoring Eugeo's laughter as he followed after the group.

(Linebreak)

Back with Kirito and Liena, as they walked along the streets, the brunette asked, "So... Kirito, where are we going?"

Kirito smiled, "Somewhere I think you'll like."

Liena stared at him in confusion for a short while before she decided to wait and see where they were going.

Soon, the pair stopped in front of a rather new-looking store, and Liena's face visibly brightened up.

The reason?

It was a simple pet store. A newly opened one in fact. During the discussion with Sumeragi and Gorgolosso last night, the two senior swordsmen had told Kirito of Liena's not-so-secret love of animals and books.

The katana user also happened to saw the new shop setting up yesterday, and had told Kirito about it.

The woman turned to Kirito, "This wasn't here before, how did you know I liked pets?"

Kirito grinned, "Well..."

Liena's smile didn't go away, "Lemme guess, Sumeragi and Gorgolosso?"

The teen chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, they kinda told me about that."

Liena nodded, but she was more focused on the puppies and kittens on display behind the glass.

Kirito smiled, finding the sight from his usually serious mentor rather cute, before he spoke up, "Come on, let's go in and have a look."

Liena didn't hesitate as she went into the shop, and Kirito followed after her.

As the woman looked around the shop, she sighed, "If only we could keep pets in the dorms..."

Kirito chuckled, "You're graduating soon, right? I'll get you one as a graduation present."

Liena sighed, "But my parents won't allow it, always nagging about how pets would dirty the house..."

The woman pouted at Kirito, "Its not like I'll leave them all dirty or something!"

The teen smiled, "Well, I suppose we can work something out in the future."

Liena let out a sigh, "Hopefully..."

Kirito chuckled before he remembered something Sumeragi told him, "Hey, senpai, I just remembered something. Can you wait for a sec?"

Liena blinked, slightly confused, "Okay?"

Kirito grinned and went to the cashier, where the shopkeeper was at, and after a few words between them, the two shared a smile and Kirito beckoned Liena to go to them.

As Liena approached them, she asked, "What's wrong, Kirito?"

Kirito didn't answer, instead, it was the shop keeper, "Yeah, well, we have a new section in our shop. See, some customers don't know if the pet is suited for them, so we thought about having a section to let the customers play with our pets, before they make their decision."

Liena's face visibly brightened up even more, "You mean I can play with them for a while?"

The shopkeeper nodded, "Of course, come with me."

Liena beamed, as the shopkeeper lead the two of them behind the shop, entering a rather large play area, obviously for the pets.

The shopkeeper smiled, "Just wait for a moment, alright?"

Liena nodded, as the shopkeeper went to release some of the animals from their cages, before signalling to Liena that she could play with them.

Liena glanced at Kirito, who just nodded, before she proceeded to play around with the animals.

As Liena played around with the animals, the shopkeeper went to stand by Kirito, and the teen said, "Thank you, owner."

The shopkeeper laughed, "Anytime, son. It warms my heart to know that there are people who love animals as much as I do. Something like this is nothing."

Kirito smiled, "Yeah..."

The man chuckled, "More importantly, you're on a date with her, right?"

Kirito blinked, "How did you know?"

The shopkeeper chuckled, "Its pretty obvious. And lemme guess, first date?"

Kirito nodded, "Y-yeah..."

The man chuckled and patted Kirito's shoulder, "Good luck, my boy. From what I can see now, you're doing a fine job. Besides, she's a pretty great catch, don't let her slip away."

Kirito smiled softly, finding Liena's happy face as she played with a puppy rather adorable, "Yeah, I hope so."

The man chuckled and turned, "Okay, I need to get back outside, tell me when you're done, alright?"

Kirito nodded, "Of course, thanks, owner."

The man waved it off as he left the room, "Sure."

After that, Kirito turned back to watching Liena, and for a brief moment, he felt a sharp pain in his back, and he for a brief instant, instead of Liena alone, he saw four girls playing with the animals, one with long blonde hair in twin tails, one with long chestnut coloured hair, another with short black hair and one with short brown hair.

Kirito grunted softly in pain as he shook his head, before looking back to see Liena there again. The teen frowned to himself, 'That again?'

Kirito growled to himself, he really needed to find out who those girls were, and soon, it was getting really annoying. But the teen forced himself to calm down, and instead to focus on his date.

(short linebreak)

Soon, after around half an hour, Kirito and Liena left the shop, with the young lady blushing slightly, "I'm sorry for making you wait, Kirito... I mean, we're on a date and-"

Kirito chuckled, "It's okay, I wanted to bring you here, and besides, watching you have fun it enough."

The older woman couldn't help but blush slightly at those words, and she just nodded, "Y-yeah..."

Kirito smiled as he glanced at the clock tower, "Come on, its about lunch time, what do you wanna eat?"

Liena furrowed her brows, before she remembered a shop she had wanted to try in a while, and a smile graced her face before she pulled Kirito's arm, "I know just the place."

Kirito blinked as she just pulled him along along the streets, though he found himself smiling as he was dragged by his mentor.

Soon, the pair arrived at a restaurant. The two quickly ordered the food, and they talked about random things.

As they waited for the food, Liena asked, "Hey, Kirito, I've been meaning to ask, what would you do after you meet that person you're trying to find in the church?"

Kirito leaned back into his chair, "That, huh?"

Bercouli's words immediately came to mind, and he spoke out, "I'll most likely be a knight, it's what I originally wanted to do anyways."

Liena smiled softly, "I see."

Kirito then looked at his mentor, "What about you?"

The woman blinked at the question, before she smiled wistfully, "I want to be a trainer, but I don't think it'll last long."

Kirito tilted his head in confusion, "Why?"

Liena sighed, "My parents, especially my father, while they allowed me to enter the academy, they still want to marry me off to some noble."

Kirito nodded, "I see..."

The two sat there in an awkward silence, before Liena spoke up again, "Umm... Kirito?"

The teen glanced at her, "What?"

Liena's face took on a slight red hue, as she glanced at the table, not daring to meet his eyes, "W-what do you think of me?"

Kirito blinked, "Eh?"

Liena's face heated up even more, but she steeled herself, gathering courage, "Y-you're not dating anyone, right? I mean..."

Kirito's face heated up a bit, getting where she was going. But before he could answer, flashes of the images he saw earlier came back to his mind, including Alice.

Kirito frowned. No, he couldn't just accept Liena's feelings, not when he wasn't sure he could really return them. He couldn't do that to her, at least, until he found out who those four girls were, or at least until he reached Alice.

The teen took a breath, "I'm sorry, Liena-senpai... I... I have some circumstances I can't tell you, at least, not now. So I can't return your feelings, not now."

The young woman held back a breath, as if everything threatened to crash down around her.

Kirito looked at her in the eye, obviously seeing what Liena was feeling now, "I really appreciate it, but I need to sort things out before I can give you an answer."

Liena looked down at the table. It wasn't a rejection. The woman nodded, "I understand. I'll wait, for you."

Liena's eyes took on a teasing glint as she added, "But don't make me wait so long, okay? Girls will only wait for so long."

Kirito blinked, feeling a warm feeling in his stomach, before he chuckled, "Thank you, Liena-senpai."

Liena just smiled, and as if on cue, the waiter brought their food, setting down on the table.

The waiter nodded as he set the plates down, "Here is your food, please enjoy your meal."

Kirito and Liena nodded their thanks, before they started eating as the waiter left to resume his duties, the two of them blissfully unaware of the huge bunch of stalkers watching them from a corner.

(meanwhile)

With said bunch of stalkers, Ran frowned, "Why aren't the both of them doing anything?"

Sumeragi sighed, before he saw Liena stiffened slightly before she relaxed, 'What are they talking about?'

The swordsman mentally sighed, why was he even thinking about that. All of them were essentially invading Kirito and Liena's privacy.

And to be honest he didn't want to waste any more time here. Sumeragi sighed, "Hey, I think we should stop following them."

Nori and Ran both snapped their heads at him, the latter asking, "Why?"

The katana user let out a breath, "You do know what we're doing, is essentially trespassing on their privacy, right? You can just get them to tell you what happened."

Ran and Nori wanted to protest, but Gorgolosso added in, "That's true, let's just stop. We're wasting our time, and if they find out, it'll just ruin their time."

The last point shut them up, and Ran sighed, "Okay, fine. Let's stop and go home."

Eugeo had a relieved smile, one shared by Talken, Jun and Tecchi, as the group disbanded and went back to their respective homes.

(linebreak)

After their lunch, Kirito and Liena wandered around the streets, visiting the bookstore, before strolling around the streets aimlessly.

Now, in the evening, they were at Liena's door. The woman smiled at Kirito, "Thank you, Kirito. I had fun today."

Kirito smiled softly, "Yeah, me too."

Liena nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

The teen nodded, "Yeah."

The young lady nodded as she softly closed the door behind her, and Kirito turned to head back home.

As he walked home, Kirito's mind wandered off, eventually coming to Liena's words earlier. To be frank, he was rather angry with himself for not accepting them, for not telling her he felt the same.

But at the same time, Kirito was frustrated. The four girls that popped up in his mind from time to time. He knew them, but he didn't know where he met them. And he was definitely sure they were very important to him.

The teen sighed, realising that he had stopped in front of his door. He shook his head, shaking away and pushing those thoughts for the future. He'd deal with them when he could.

Kirito brought out his keys and opened the door, seeing Eugeo on the couch reading a book.

The blonde smiled, "Hey, Kirito. How did it go?"

Kirito smiled as he took off his shoes and locked the door, "It turned out fine, I suppose."

Eugeo nodded, "I see. So, are you two an official thing now?"

The blacked haired teen didn't answet for a moment, before he spoke, "Not really."

Eugeo blinked and he asked, "Why?"

Kirito sighed, turning to his brother, "I'm... confused, for the lack of a better word."

The blonde placed his book down, "What do you mean?"

Kirito sat down beside Eugeo, "You remember how I told about these four girls I'd see in my dreams?"

Eugeo blinked, "You don't mean you rejected her for that? Are you serious?"

Kirito shook his head, "No. I haven't told you, but lately, those images appear in my head, it definitely means something. And I didn't reject her, I just need to sort things out before I am sure I can return her feelings."

Eugeo sighed, "I see. I won't lie and I say I understand you, but at least, you didn't push her away."

Kirito nodded, and Eugeo continued, "But don't keep her waiting too long, alright?"

The black haired teen nodded and he stood up, "I'm gonna shower, okay?"

Eugeo nodded, "Got it."

Kitito headed for the shower, before he headed to bed shortly after that, Liena and those four girls still fresh on his mind.

XXX

Done, review please.

So, here's a bit of development for Liena with Kirito, they won't get together yet, not until I bring in Ronye, or even after bringing Kirito and Eugeo to the Central Cathedral, probably after that. But they will get together.

The next chapter will be Sortiliena and the senior students' graduation etc. Which also means Ronye and Tiesse would debut, along with Rain.

So yeah, look forward to it. Until next time.


	66. Chapter 66

Hey guys, I'm having my finals now, so I won't be updating anytime soon, probably by the end of November for the next chapter.

And about Alice in Kirito or Eugeo's harem, I'm still thinking. I'm currently leaning for Kirito, so probably that. But if anyone can convince me otherwise or convince that Alice belongs with Kirito, please do so.

And to the **Guest,** I suppose it is underwhelming. But this is all just build up for the next part, the better parts come later.

Anyways, the following chapters will be more development for Ronye and Tiese, along with a few other characters, so I believe things will be a bit more... peaceful, for the lack of a better word.

So yeah, here's the newest chapter.

XXX

A few months later, after that one date, Kirito and Liena's relationship hadn't change much. Fortunately, they didn't feel awkward with each other even after what happened, and in fact, it had only gotten better, and they had even gone out a few more times.

Kirito and Liena might not admit it yet, but they were essentially together, just not officially.

Ran, Yuuki and Nori were also quite pissed at Kirito when they found out what Kirito told Liena, though after Liena calmed them down, the three decided to let the teen take his time for now.

Though they did make a promise to kick his ass all the way to the next century if he took too long or broke Liena's heart, whichever came first.

(linebreak)

Now, the graduation ceremony had just ended, and Kirito and Liena were sitting on one of the benches on one of the balconies in the academy, watching over the streets.

As they talked about random stuff, Kirito asked, "Hey, Liena-senpai, what are you gonna do from now on?"

Liena blinked at the question, before she smiled, "I talked with Ran, and we decided we'd travel around for a while. And I've been wanting to sed al four empires."

Kirito blinked several times before he nodded, "I see."

The woman nodded, "Then after that, I'll probably come back here, and see if I can become an assistant in this academy."

Kirito nodded, "I see..."

Liena smiled as she leaned on the railings, "Well, we'll probably come back in a year or two, so you'll see me soon enough."

Kirito nodded, "I see..."

Liena nodded in response, before Kirito turned and fully faced her.

The teen took a breath, "Liena-senpai, about us... Can we... Can I give you my answer when you come back?"

Liena blinked in slight surprise, before she smiled. The woman faced the younger man and took his hands, nodding softly, "Of course, I'll wait for you to sort out whatever you're facing. Then you give me your answer, alright?"

Kirito smiled, "Yeah... Thank you."

The brunette smiled before she spoke, "And one more thing, don't call me senpai anymore."

Kirito blinked, "Eh?"

Liena giggled lightly at his face, "Well, I'm not gonna be your mentor anymore, and I think it's about time you just straight up called me by my name, no?"

The teen blinked several times before he chuckled and nodded, "Got it, Liena."

The woman smiled at him, feeling happy that he finally dropped the suffix. Liena let out a breath before she said again, "We'll be leaving tomorrow, so this will be probably the last time we'll be alone like this in a while."

Kirito nodded, "I see..."

The young woman smiled before she lightly hit Kirito on the back, "Hey, its not like we won't be seeing each other anymore, it'll just be a year or two."

Kirito chuckled, "Yeah, you're right."

Liena smiled, before she glanced at the clock tower and spoke, "Well, let's go, Ran booked a place for dinner, and everyone's going."

Kirito chuckled again before he nodded, following Liena as they headed for the restaurant.

(linebreak)

The next day, Kirito, Eugeo, Yuuki and the rest of the gang, including Sumeragi, Gorgolosso and Seven, were at the entrance of West Centoria.

Liena and Ran stood at the gates, before they turned to face their friends. The shorter brunette grinned, "Well, we'll be seeing you guys in a year or two then."

Sumeragi had a small smirk tugging his lips, "Hmph, don't get lost out there, got it?"

Ran pouted and glared at him, as Gorgolosso grinned, "Well, Liena's gonna be with her, so I think she will be fine... Probably."

The shorter girl glared at her friends, "What is that supposed to mean?!"

Everyone just laughed. Then, Liena's eyes landed on Kirito. Liena smiled, "I'll see in a while then."

Kirito nodded, a smile tugging his lips, "Yeah."

After everyone said their goodbyes, the two young women turned and walked out of the entrance, and slowly, their figures vanished from sight.

As they watched the two leave the town, Sumeragi asked, "Kirito, you sure that's enough?"

The younger man smiled softly, "Yeah, it is."

Gorgolosso nodded, "If you believe it is."

Nori hmph'd and punched Kirito lightly on the shoulder, "Make sure you tell Liena-senpai when she comes back, or I swear I'll kick your ass."

The black haired teen chuckled sheepishly, "Of course."

Then, suddenly, Kirito felt a sharp pain in his head, and he grunted as he saw images flash through his mind again.

In Liena and Ran's place, were two different figures. One was a man with long white spiky hair, wearing and red and white haori, while the other was the girl with blonde hair tied in twin tails.

But before he could think further, the images changed again. This time, it was an image of a man with short black hair, a backpack slung behind his back, also carrying a shield and a broad sword.

Kirito grunted, shaking his head as he grabbed it with his right arm.

The young man cursed, he knew all three of them. He was very sure of that now, but he had no idea who they were. It was as if a huge important part of him was there, but not there.

But before he could think further, Yuuki's voice reached his ears, "Kirito, are you alright?"

Kirito blinked, as they pain quickly subsided as he focused on reality, "Huh?"

He looked around, noticing everyone's worried faces. Eugeo said, worry evident in his voice, "You alright, bro?"

Kirito let out a breath, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a headache, that's all."

Gorgolosso folded his arms, "Are you not getting enough rest?"

Kirito smiled sheepishly, "Probably, hehe."

Sumeragi sighed, "Well, don't overwork yourself."

Kirito chuckled, "Of course."

Though Kirito played it off, Eugeo knew his brother wasn't fine at all, even if everyone believed him.

(linebreak)

After a short while, everyone left to do their own thing, and Kirito and Eugeo headed back for their home.

As Kirito sat down on the sofa, Eugeo asked, "Hey Kirito, were you seeing those images again just now?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, in Liena and Ran-senpai's places, I saw a man with white hair, and a girl with blonde hair in twin tails."

He paused, frowning, "I know them, Eugeo. But I just can't remember who they are."

The blonde teen let out a breath, "I see..."

After a short pause, Eugeo spoke out, "Hey, Kirito, I think, maybe we should go see a psychologist or somethi-."

He was cut off as Kirito raised his voice, "I'm not going insane!"

Eugeo was slightly shocked, both from the glare and Kirito raising his voice, and he realised what he had suggested.

The blonde quickly shook his head, "I didn't mean that!"

Eugeo let out a breath, "You've been seeing those images for some time now, maybe a psychologist can help sort things out."

Kirito clenched his fists and stood up, heading for his room, "I don't need to see a psychologist."

Eugeo just sighed, as his brother slammed the door shut.

(linebreak)

A few days later, after the small argument, the two brothers hadn't talked much at all. And it was pretty obvious to everyone who knew them that something had happened between them.

Now, Kirito was training alone in the training hall. It was nearly the end of the year, and there were only two months left until the next intake, so as the new first seat of the Twelve Elite-Swordsman-in-Training, Kirito'd get a Valet by then.

Now, Kirito was training against a shadow of himself, imagining how he himself would move, and moving in accordance to counter the shadow of himself.

As Kirito tilted his body to dodge a phantom slash from above, he strengthened his foothold, spinning as he did, while swinging his sword horizontally in a way that would behead any opponent lesser than himself.

And right as he ended the stroke, he heard the sound of clapping coming from his left.

Kirito turned to see Sumeragi leaning on the wall and he blinked, "S-sumeragi-senpai?"

The man smirked, "Nice moves, even if you were only practicing."

Kirito chuckled sheepishly, "Thanks."

He then asked, "I thought you went back to East Centoria?"

Sumeragi smirked, "Not yet. I'll be leaving in a few days, but I'm not here to talk about me."

Kirito tilted his head slightly in confusion, and Sumeragi's smirk dropped, "Did something happen between you and Eugeo?"

Kirito visibly stiffened, something that didn't go unnoticed by the older man, "It's nothing."

The bluenette frowned, "It's not nothing if you two don't talk to each other much these days. Yuuki and Seven told me."

The black haired teen sighed, "I'll sort things out soon, okay?"

Sumeragi narrowed his eyes, "Like you did with Liena?"

Kirito's eyes widened before he snapped his head at Sumeragi, "What has Liena got to do with this?"

Sumeragi didn't miss the warning tone in Kirito's voice, nor did he miss the fact that Kirito didn't use the - senpai suffix like he did in the past, but he didn't back down, "If I'm right, everything."

Kirito just stared at the older man hard, but Sumeragi continued, "I don't know what happened between you and Liena."

The man narrowed his eyes, "But you know, Kirito, Liena is important to me, to Gorgolosso, to Ran, and many other people. The reason why none of us did anything until now, is because we know you won't do anything to hurt her."

Kirito felt anger churn in his chest, "I would never do anything to hurt her."

Sumeragi nodded, "I know, not intentionally anyway."

He then narrowed his eyes, "But the question here and now, is what are you running from?"

Kirito's eyes widened from the accusation, "Wha?"

Sumeragi's stern gaze didn't leave his face, "Yes. You're obviously facing some problems, but as far as I know, Liena doesn't know. In fact, I'm pretty sure she trusts you that you can sort things out eventually, that's why she's even waiting for you."

Kirito's eyes widened from those words, but before he could say anything, Sumeragi continued, "To tell you the truth, Liena's one of a kind. No one will probably be worthy of her, not you, not me, not anyone else in the world. But she chose you, and she's even waiting for you."

Sumeragi took a small pause, "I don't know what you're facing, but at the very least, for her sake, Kirito, you need to stop running."

Kirito stayed silent, his mind racing as he started reflecting on everything that had happened.

Sumeragi paused, taking a moment to look at the younger man, and he thought, 'I suppose, this is enough for now.'

He knew that look on Kirito's face. It was the look of a person who finally started thinking, a person who won't run from his problems.

Sumeragi nodded to himself, and he turned to leave. But before he could make it to the door, Kirito called out, "Sumeragi-senpai..."

The man turned, and Kirito took a breath, "Can I talk to you about my problems?"

The bluenette held back the urge to smirk, 'Well, I suppose he's not that bad after all.'

(short linebreak)

After an hour, Sumeragi sighed, "Kirito, I have half a mind to punch you in the face, but I'm also sure that you're not lying."

Kirito stayed silent, he knew his reasons deserved more than a punch to the face.

Sumeragi took a breath, "And if I were any lesser man, I would have killed you, or at the very least, do whatever it takes to convince Liena to dump you."

Kirito stayed silent again, and Sumeragi spoke, "But I'm not, and as far fetched as your story sounds, I believe you."

Kirito's eyes widened, "Really?"

The bluenette nodded, "Yes, for now."

Sumeragi let a small smirk appear on his face, "Hey, we live in a world where dark evil creatures live beyond in the Dark Territory, and there are people who can manipulate the elements to their own benefit. Seeing visions isn't really that far fetched, if you look at all these things."

The teen only nodded, not daring to say another word, lest he made the situation worse than it already was.

Sumeragi let out a breath, "I may have some contacts back in the church near my place that might know what is happening, and I'm leaving in a few days, so I might as well see if they know anything."

Kirito blinked in surprise, "You're serious?"

The bluenette smirked, "Of course."

His smirk then dropped, replaced by a serious face, "But while I'm gone, I want you to put aside all of that, and think. Think about what _you_ want to do, what part do you want in Liena's life, and you better have an answer when I get back, or when Liena gets back, you got that?"

Kirito stared at his senior, and he realized, Sumeragi was not only helping him. He was giving him a chance, to make sure nothing went wrong. Or more specifically, that Liena wouldn't get hurt because of something that possibly didn't exist.

The black haired teen nodded, "Yes sir."

Sumeragi's smirk returned as he stood up, "Good. Now I have to go pack up, I still have months worth of clothes in my closet."

Kirito nodded as Sumeragi left for the door, and the older man turned to look at the younger man, "Now, I believe you should go make up with Eugeo, alright?"

The teen opened his mouth to say that it wasn't that easy, but the older man was already gone. Kirito let out a sigh, at least the conversation went well, for the most part anyways.

(linebreak)

Later that evening, Kirito sat on the sofa in their apartment. Contrary to what they had intended in the beginning, Kirito and Eugeo had decided to use the apartment given to them for the first year, before they moved into the dorms with everyone else.

Sadore had told them that the apartment was theirs to use however they wanted, that is, until Bercouli said otherwise, and their teacher had yet to appear in front of them.

But that wasn't what was on Kirito's mind. No. The young man was currently going through everything he had gone through throughout the whole year, and those flashes of images he'd see in his mind.

Kirito let out a breath of frustration, now that he had actually thought and considered everything, his choices and decisions that he made were all incredibly stupid, and he could have done better.

But then the young man frowned. Even with everything that had happened, he had made no progress in figuring out what those images meant.

It wasn't a prophecy, like how the priests and priestesses claimed to receive. No, it was more akin to fragments of events that happened, or rather, memories regarding the people he saw.

Kirito shook his head, shaking away those thoughts. Instead of stressing himself over something like that, he should focus more on apologising to Eugeo, and make sure to make up to Liena when she came back.

(meanwhile)

Meanwhile, outside the apartment building, Eugeo stood at the stairs, his conversation with Gorgolosso earlier fresh on his mind.

The taller man had talked to him about what Kirito was facing. And Eugeo realised he had been too harsh on his brother.

Yes, it was Kirito's mistake that he made those stupid choices, but it wasn't Kirito's fault that he saw those visions.

Now that Gorgolosso had talked to him, Eugeo realised he was also at fault, for not helping his brother more. And he felt like shit for that.

The blonde sighed, moping around like this wouldn't help much, and he should really apologise to his brother. After all, he did, unintentionally, imply that Kirito was probably going insane.

The blonde took a breath and walked up the stairs to the door. As he stood in front of the door, Eugeo took another breath and entered the apartment.

As soon as he entered, Eugeo saw Kirito at the couch, who stood up when he saw Eugeo.

Eugeo opened his mouth, and at the same time, Kirito spoke, "Hey Kirito/Eugeo-"

Both blinked, before they shared a chuckle, and Kirito spoke, "You go first."

Eugeo nodded slowly, before he started, "About what I told you a while ago, I want to apologise to you."

Kirito blinked, "Eh? Why?"

The blonde let out a breath, "I wasn't... being fair to you, Kirito. You were seeing all those visions, and I couldn't help you, and instead I pressured you more for pushing you to fix things up with Liena-senpai."

Kirito gaped for a short while before he smiled, "It's the same for me too, actually. I... was, and probably still am an idiot. Those visions I saw, they bothered me too much that I lost sight of the present. You're actually right, Eugeo, and I'm sorry for snapping at you."

Eugeo smiled, and he extended his palm facing upwards to his brother, "So we cool?"

Kirito grinned, "Yeah, we cool."

The brothers slapped their palms together, before fist bumping, beating their fists on the chest lightly, before bumping fists again, and finally putting their index finger to their lips and bringing it up to the air before they high-fived with their opposite hand.

Both brothers shared a laugh, before Eugeo turned for the bathroom, "Imma shower then, you up for dinner?"

Kirito smiled, "Sure."

The blonde nodded and headed into the shower, leaving the young man alone again.

Kirito smiled to himself, happy that they resolved their little dispute. The young man then took a breath, now all he needed to do, was to wait for Liena to come home, and he'd make sure to give her his answer.

( **TIMESKIP** )

A few months later, Kirito and Eugeo had moved into the academy dorms, and as luck would have it, they were roommates again.

Throughout the months, the first year students had undergone two exams, a theory and a practical exam, to see where they stood, along with determining the new Twelve Elite-Swordsman-in-Training.

As a result, Kirito ended up as the first seat, follwed by Eugeo, Yuuki, Seven, a man named Raios Antinous, another man named Humbert Zizek and several other students.

Now, the new Twelve Elite Swordsman in Training were waiting to select their Valets. Kirito looked over the twelve junior students standing in front of them. The black haired man had gone through the files of their achievements and their results in the entrance exam,

The young man, along with the other eleven members of the Elite-Swordsmen-in-Training had actually discussed who they wanted to choose, and it was decided he would take a girl named Ronye Arabel.

Kirito glanced at his brother, it was also decided that he would take a girl named Tiese Shtolienen under his wing. According to the records, the two girls were on the higher end of the list, the second and third, in fact, though due to the fact that they were of a lower class of nobles, the other members didn't bat an eye at them.

Kirito resisted the urge to sigh. The fourth seat, Raios Humbert, a very arrogant man, had initially demanded that he, as he was of a noble family, be given priority to choose the best trainee.

But as soon as Raios' eyes landed on the list, he had immediately chosen the fourth on the list, the main reason being, in his own words, 'not trusting peasants to take care of his room'.

Kirito had of course, accepted it, though unfortunately, Seven had beaten him to 'claiming' the top trainee, a girl named Rain, who was, not unlike him and Eugeo, a villager from South Centoria.

So the teen had to settle for the second top trainee, though he wouldn't complain. After all, the entrance results meant nothing if you didn't work hard during your time in the academy.

Besides, having someone to train with, was enough, and being able to help them improve was even better.

Back to the present, Kirito, and the other eleven senior students, walked to their chosen Valets.

The black haired teen smiled kindly at the shorter girl, "Ronye Arabel?"

The girl straightened up stiffly, "Yes sir!"

Kirito's smile didn't leave his face, "My name is Kirito, and I'll be your mentor for the coming year, I hope we can get along nicely."

Ronye's face heated up slightly as she saw Kirito's smiling face, and she was even more surprised when she saw his extended hand.

The young girl mentally slapped herself for freezing before she shook Kirito's hand, "S-same here, Kirito-senpai."

Kirito nodded, letting go of Ronye's hand before he said, "So, let's go somewhere more comfortable to sort things out, alright?"

Ronye nodded as she followed after him, "Y-yes sir!"

Kirito chuckled as they walked, "Just call me Kirito, I may be your mentor, but I'm still a student here."

The younger girl blushed slightly, "Okay, Kirito-senpai."

The young man just nodded, sending a glance at the others as they too were leaving the hall. He shared a glance with Eugeo, who just smiled and nodded, no words needed.

The teen then turned and continued out of the hall with Ronye at his side.

As the two walked out, Kirito suggested, "Hey, since we have quite some time, you wanna talk at a cafe?"

Ronye blinked, rather surprised by his suggestion, "Umm, I'm okay with anything, to be honest."

Kirito grinned, "Great, I know a nice place with very good waffles."

The short haired girl just followed him, totally not expecting the first seat of the current twelve Elite-Swordsman-in-Training to be so carefree.

From what she had heard from her father, the previous head of the twelve students, Volo Levantein, was a very strict and terrifying person.

Though her father, unfortunately, didn't have the chance to look at Kirito's character, so she had half expected him to be somewhat like Volo.

She couldn't be any further from the truth, at least, from what she saw.

Throughout the short walk, Ronye didn't feel uncomfortable or awkward at all. Well, nervous because she had just entered the academy and all, but not because of Kirito.

In fact, walking beside him gave her a sense of comfort. It wasn't as scary as she expected.

Soon, the girl was broken out of her musings as they reached a humble looking cafe. Kirito grinned, "We're here."

The young man took a seat at one of the tables, gesturing Ronye to do the same, which she did.

Kirito smiled and nodded at the waiter who handed them two menus, before he turned his attention to Ronye, "So, I can assume you've never been here before, yes?"

Ronye nodded, "Y-yeah, I'm not really familiar with this place yet."

The black haired teen grinned, "If that's the case, I strongly suggest the basic waffle with ice cream set."

Ronye nodded, glancing over the menu, "I'll go with that then."

The waiter smiled and nodded, taking her order, before he looked at Kirito, "The usual for you, yes?"

Kirito chuckled, "Yep."

The older man nodded, "Very well, please wait while I get your orders, okay?"

The two nodded as the waiter walked away, leaving the mentor/mentee alone.

Kirito then spoke up, "So, Ronye, I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to sort out our arrangements first, okay?"

Ronye nodded, "O-of course."

The teen smiled, "Well, first of all, I know the Valets are supposed to help clean our rooms, so for the sake of simplicity, you won't need to clean my room."

Ronye blinked, "W-what? You can do that?"

Kirito chuckled, "Yeah, kinda."

Seeing his junior's confused face, Kirito elaborated, "As you know, the first year students are to clean the dorms after class before they go on with their lives. Valets clean the rooms of the Twelve Elite-Swordsman-in-Training and also assist them in anything the want, mostly sparring sessions."

Kirito paused, before he continued, "Now, I'm sure as a noble, you won't like having to serve a non-noble like myself, right?"

Ronye shook her head frantically, "N-no, I'm fine with it actually!"

The teen smiled, "I see, but still, my mentor didn't have me clean her room, and it gave us a lot more time to spar and study, so I'm planning to go with that too."

Ronye nodded, "I see, if that's what you want to do then I'm fine with it."

Kirito grinned, "Cool. So basically, all you need to do is spar with me, that clear?"

Ronye nodded, "Yes, Kirito-senpai."

The man grinned, "Alright, so that's done."

Kirito then considered a while before he asked, "So Ronye, can you tell me more about yourself?"

Ronye blinked, "E-eh? What do you mean?"

Kirito leaned back into his chair, "Hmm, probably stuff like where you're from, what you like, what you hate, your hobbies and your dreams?"

The girl nodded slowly, before she started, "Okay, I'm from South Centoria, and I umm, like gardening, and sweet stuff..."

Kirito nodded, "I see, what about stuff you don't like?"

Ronye stiffened a bit, before she blushed, "Umm, just... Mornings..."

Kirito blinked before he laughed lightly, "I see, I suppose great minds do think alike."

Ronye blinked before she realized what she meant and giggled lightly.

Kirito let out a breath, "And what about your dreams?"

The girl looked down at the table, "I... don't know..."

Kirito nodded, "I see, that's fine. You can figure that out later."

Ronye then asked, "Umm, Kirito-senpai, then can you tell me about yourself?"

The young man nodded, "Of course, you did it, so its my turn."

Ronye nodded, as Kirito started, "As you know, my name is Kirito. I'm from a village at the edge of North Centoria near the borders of the Human Empire. I like just about any kind of food and napping. For things I hate, well, mornings which take away my sleep."

Both mentor and mentee grinned/smiled at that, and Kirito finished, "And my dream, well, to be a knight, I suppose."

Ronye oh'd, "So you joined the academy for that?"

The young man leaned into his chair, "Yeah."

The girl nodded, before the waiter came with their food. Kirito grinned, nodding his thanks to the waiter, Ronye doing the same before they started eating.

(linebreak)

A few weeks later, Ronye was in a training hall, standing in front of her mentor, both holding a sword in their hands.

Kirito studied Ronye's stance, for a beginner, or at least, a first year student, she was following the basic stances to the book.

That was good, but he could easily see the flaws and the openings the textbook stance had, and he needed to correct her on that.

Kirito also noticed a small detail about Ronye. Everytime she sparred, she had a certain stiffness at her shoulders, probably because she always felt nervous even if she didn't show it, and it affected her attacks a lot.

The teen let out a breath, "Come."

In the next instance, Ronye's face hardened, and she burst into action. While to most first year students, Ronye would seem like she vanished, but not to Kirito.

The man tilted his blade as the wooden swords met, redirecting it to a side, although not enough to send the girl off balance.

Ronye quickly recovered, swinging her sword diagonally from her bottom right.

Kirito held back a smirk, before blocking the slash firmly. But Ronye wasn't about to give him an opening.

Not missing a beat, the girl pulled back and spun, swinging her sword horizontally as she did.

But for every strike Ronye make, Kirito's blade was always there to stop it. And soon, the girl was starting to breathe heavily.

Kirito easily noticed this, and he relaxed, "Okay, that's enough for now."

Ronye let out a breath, glad that they were done, "Alright."

The two headed for the benches, and Kirito grabbed a towel and handed it to Ronye, who accepted with thanks, before he grabbed a bottle of water and drank from it.

After Ronye wiped away her sweat, the girl asked, "So, Kirito-senpai, how did I do just now?"

Kirito covered the bottle with the cap and thought a while, "Hmm, overall your stance is fine, your hits are also strong. But I noticed that your shoulders stiffen everytime a spar starts."

Ronye nodded, "I see..."

The teen smiled, "Just remember to relax everytime you start, it helps, and probably square your shoulders when you strike."

Ronye nodded, "I see, I'll take note of that."

Kirito nodded, "Good, and I suppose its time I taught you a skill."

The girl blinked in surprise, "Eh? Really?!"

The teen nodded, "Yep."

Kirito didn't really fault her for being surprised. Normally, the mentees were just a sparring partner for the mentors to get better. That was a flaw in the system.

By logic, the first year students would have less experience than the second year students, so it would be expected that the mentees were to learn from the mentors, not the other way around.

So Kirito decided he'd pass on at least one technique to Ronye, just to help her get stronger.

The man grabbed his sword and handed Ronye her own, before standing in the center of the hall.

Ronye did the same before she asked, "So, what are you gonna teach me?"

Kirito grinned, "A very simple but effective skill."

The teen slid into a stance, his sword sheathed at his waist, "Alright, I want you to hit me."

Ronye nodded, and in a blink of an eye, her sword was right in front of Kirito. The teen smirked slightly, and he moved.

Drawing his blade, Ronye's eyes widened as she saw Kirito's sword glowing a bright red, and then, the swords clashed.

In the next instant, Ronye winced slightly as she felt a stinging pain course through her body, more specifically her shoulder, where she was aiming to hit Kirito at.

Kirito let out a breath before he asked, "So, what did you feel?"

Ronye furrowed her brows, "I... don't know, when you parried my sword, I felt pain in my left shoulder."

Kirito nodded, "And were you aiming for my left shoulder?"

The girl's eyes widened, before she nodded, "Yes."

The man grinned, "That's the skill I'm gonna teach you. The Full Counter."

Ronye tilted her head in slight confusion, before Kirito explained, "The Full Counter is a counter attack, as the name suggests. By infusing your sword with mana, it can reflect any damage back at your enemy."

The girl nodded, taking in the information as Kirito continued, "Remember just now, as you tried to hit me, I parried it, and the technique, reflected the intended damage done to my body, back at you."

Ronye nodded, "I see... So, how do I do it?"

Kirito smiled, and after that, he spent the next hour teaching Ronye.

(linebreak)

A few days later, Ronye was with Tiese, sitting on a bench, resting after just finishing their lunch. As luck would have it, the two roommates' mentors were also roommates themselves, and the girls had just found out.

They would have found out sooner, if Eugeo hadn't done the same as Kirito by telling Tiese that she didn't need to clean his room. So both Ronye and Tiese only trained with their respective mentors.

Tiese asked, "So, how is it, having someone like Kirito-senpai as your mentor?"

Ronye blinked, "Eh?"

The redhead smiled, "I mean, he's the first seat, and I heard the previous one was an ass."

Ronye oh'd, before she thought about it, "Hmm, I guess Kirito-senpai is easy-going? He's actually very kind."

The short haired girl then asked, "What about Eugeo-senpai?"

Tiese was slightly caught off guard by the question, and she started blushing, "Umm, Eugeo-senpai is nice..."

Ronye caught the blush, and she smiled slyly, "Someone's got a crush?"

Tiese's face matched her hair as she glared at her friend, "No! Just because he's handsome and kind doesn't mean I like him!"

Ronye gave her friend a knowing look, "I didn't think you were a tsundere, Tiese."

The redhead glared at her before she shot back, "What about you? I know you like Kirito-senpai, you talk in your sleep."

The shorter girl's face lit up and she suddenly found the floor very interesting, "Alright, just drop this! Please..."

Tiese grinned victoriously, before she added, "Though, when are you gonna tell him?"

Ronye glared at her, "Tiese!"

The redhead only laughed, before they went back to their rooms.

XXX

Done. Okay, so that's the 66th chapter. Ronye and Tiese are in the story now.

Though, I do admit that this is not as good a chapter as I hoped it'd be, and compared to most previous chapters...

Anyways, as promised, Ronye will be in Kirito's ever growing harem. And Tiese will be in Eugeo's harem, along with Selka. Or given that there are only two girls, izzit a threesome?

Anyways, I'm having my finals now. So the next chapter will probably be out in the end of November, or early December.

So yeah, that's all from me for now. Review please, and I'll see y'all next time.


	67. Chapter 67

Hey guys, I'm back. Finally my finals are over...

Anyways, I've been thinking about it, and after watching the newest episodes, I still think I will pair her up with Kirito.

For Eugeo, I will probably just put Selka and Tiese with him.

Speaking of which, Alice is AWESOME! They buffed her up so much in the anime! Well, not that they didn't in the novels, but still, watching that happen is just...well, words simply cannot describe that.

Anyways, to **Broken Requiem** , I suppose that's what Eugeo will have, a threesome, or as you said, a flower for each arm.

 **Chrisplays** , well, you'll just have to find out in this chapter.

 **NeonGamer973** , I do agree with you, in the sense that casual chapters are important for a story. And thank you, it's an honor to know that my story is a candidate for your top stories, I do hope you continue to enjoy the future chapters.

So yeah, that's that, and here's the new chapter.

XXX

A month later, Ronye, Tiese and Rain were walking through the streets, each carrying a handful of groceries.

Kirito and Eugeo had met up with Yuuki once, bringing Ronye and Tiese with them, that was how they met the redhead.

As they walked, Tiese asked, "So, how's your training coming around?"

Rain smiled forcefully, "Ermm, not that bad, I suppose?"

Ronye tilted her head in confusion, "Did anything happen?"

Tiese nodded, expressing her curiosity.

The shorter red head sighed, "Well, Seven-senpai is just a bit..."

The girl trailed off, and Ronye finished her sentence with a knowing smile, "Very vague with her words?"

Rain nodded, "I mean, I understand most of the time... But there are times I just don't really get it, well, until she actually shows me."

Ronye giggled, "I know what you mean, Kirito-senpai does it too, but he always shows me physically, so its not too bad for me."

Rain then looked at her fellow redhead, "What about you, Tiese?"

The taller redhead smiled fondly, "Well, Eugeo-senpai is actually pretty good when it comes to our training, so I don't get any problems, at least for now."

Ronye smiled slyly, sharing a sly knowing glance with Rain before she asked, "You sure that's not the only thing on your mind about him?"

The girl's face turned the same colour as her hair as she increased her pace, "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Rain and Ronye both laughed before they followed after their friend.

(linebreak)

A few days later, Ronye was sparring with Kirito in their usual hall.

Kirito stared at his Valet, his stern gaze searching for signs of weakness in his mentee's stance.

To his pleasant surprise, he found none, and that alone spoke volumes of how much Ronye had improved over the span of a few months.

Deciding to take the first move, Kirito dashed forward, bringing his sword down from above his head.

Instinctively, Ronye pulled her blade towards her waist, causing it to glow red as she swung her blade to meet her mentor's.

The man's eyes widened as the wooden swords met, and a surge of pain coursed through his body, specifically his left shoulder.

Kirito had to hand it to the girl, using the Full Counter at the exact last moment was a very good move, and it proved just how good she was.

As Kirito tried to regain his balance, Ronye moved, swinging her sword horizontally at his waist.

The man saw the slash coming, and at the last minute, instead of regaining his footing, he let himself fall backwards, hitting the ground.

Not missing a beat, Kirito rolled to his feet and raised his sword just in time to block a overhead slash from Ronye.

The girl narrowed her eyes, pulling her sword back as she leaped back to regain some distance and breathing space.

But Kirito wasn't just about to let her do so, and in an instant, he closed the gap between them.

The girl's eyes barely widened as Kirito sword struck her own, and she regained her bearings just in time to push back against his sword.

Ronye tch'd, before she tilted her blade, attempting to let Kirito's wooden sword slide down the blade for an opening.

Normally, that would work on any other person, but not Kirito. And the man quickly took advantage of that.

Instead of letting his sword slide down Ronye's own like she wanted, he pushed his own sword against hers hard, away to a side, leaving her wide open.

Then, before Ronye realised it, she felt the wooden blade on her neck, and she sighed in defeat, "I can never win against you, can I?"

The man chuckled, "Not yet, but with your progress, I doubt it'd take long for you to beat me."

Ronye smiled slightly in response, before Kirito glanced out at the clock tower, "Alright, that should be it for the day."

Ronye nodded as Kirito headed for the bench, before he tossed her a towel which she caught easily.

Then, the girl remembered her conversations with Ronye and Tiese. And she took a breath, contemplating if she should reveal how she really thought about Kirito.

But before Ronye could say a thing, Kirito headed for the door, "I can leave the rest to you, right? Just turn close the doors, windows and turn off the lamps."

The girl nodded as Kirito left the hall. The girl then sighed, as she thought, 'I'll ask him next time then...'

(linebreak)

A few days later, in Kirito's class, the young man was taking down notes for their recent classes.

The man sighed, even if they were in a school for swordsplay, it was, in the end, still a school. That meant they had to study and take written exams.

After copying down what seemed like the thousandth page of content, Kirito leaned back into his chair to take a short break.

As he did, he heard Yuuki calling out to him, "Hey Kirito, got a minute?"

The man glanced to his right where the girl was, "Hey, what's up?"

Yuuki grinned, "There's something I want you to help me with."

Kirito tilted his head, motioning her to continue, and Yuuki spoke, "Its actually something my mom suggested, she said I should try to develop my own sword skill, something unique for myself, so I was thinking you'd know something to help..."

Kirito pondered a while, before he nodded, "Sure, I'll help..."

Yuuki grinned, "Cool, I'll see you in the training hall in an hour then."

The man nodded, as the girl left, leaving him to continue working on his notes again.

A short while later, Kirito was standing in the training hall, Yuuki holding her thin sword as they started to discuss about the new sword technique.

Kirito asked, "So, how far are in with the skill?"

The upbeat girl hummed, "Well, I'm thinking of a combo type, like, maybe... Overwhelming my opponent with a huge number of stabs before they can react, that sort of thing."

Kirito chuckled, "That does sound like something you'd do."

Then he hmm'd, before he said, "But for that to actually work, you'd need to make sure your enemy does not interrupt it."

That was the thing with sword skills, or rather, sword arts. It wouldn't work by just infusing the blade with mana. Sure, it would strengthen the sword, increasing the damage, but only slightly.

Another requirement was the speed and the specific attack of the technique. They needed to be precise to obtain the maximum effect, that was another reason why not many people could create or recreate sword arts.

Back to the present, Yuuki nodded, "Yeah, that's why I thought of using stabs instead of slashes. But I don't know how to actually start..."

Kirito nodded, glancing at a dummy target at the side of the hall, and an idea popped into his mind, "I think I have an idea..."

Yuuki raised an eyebrow, as Kirito brought the dummy over to the center of the hall. The man then spoke, "You said you wanted it to be a combo type, meaning that it'd be a technique with multiple hits, right?"

Yuuki nodded, and Kirito continued with a grin, "So how about starting from the legs, or at least, the thighs, to stop the enemy from moving?"

He pointed to the lower left part of the dummy, where a person's legs or thighs, would be.

Kirito then continued, trailing his finger up to the center of the dummy, where the stomach, or lower chest, would be, before continuing to the upper right part of the dummy, where a person's shoulder would be, "Continuing up here..."

Before he poked the abdomen area of the dummy hard, "And strike here hard."

Yuuki nodded, "Hmm, that's great, but then, that would make it around five to seven strikes?"

Kirito nodded, "Yep."

The girl shook her head, "Too less..."

The man gaped, "You want more?"

Yuuki giggled, "Why not?"

Kirito just stared at her, blank faced, and rather speechless.

The purple haired girl then stared at the dummy, before she grinned, "How about instead of just striking on one side, we strike both sides of the body?"

She used her sword, moving it from the botton left of the dummy to the upper right, before moving the sword to the upper left of the dummy and moved it down to the lower right, before lightly tapping the chest/center of the dummy.

Yuuki grinned, "Its basically what you suggested, but essentially on the whole body."

Kirito scratched his chin, nodding slowly, "That might actually work..."

The girl's grin grew wider, if possible, "I know right!"

The man nodded, "But the question is, can you match the speed the technique requires? I'm pretty sure this would require a huge amount of speed to obtain the maximum effect."

Yuuki grinned, "There's only one way to find out then."

She adopted a stance, and Kirito backed away, giving her more space.

Yuuki took a deep breath, her grin gone from her face, and she pictured how she wanted to hit the dummy in her head, allowing mana to flow into her sword.

Then she moved, her sword glowing light purple.

Like how Kirito said, Yuuki started from the lower left, stabbing up to five times, before she did the same in the opposite direction from the top, stabbing five times as well.

Once she was done, a visible cross was on the dummy target, and Yuuki finished it off with a hard stab to the chest, totally obliterating the dummy as it shattered into pieces.

Kirito whistled in appreciation, "That actually worked..."

Yuuki just grinned and gave Kirito a peace sign. The man then asked, "So, what are you gonna call that?"

Yuuki adopted a thinking pose, before she smiled, "How about... Mother's Rosario?"

Kirito hummed, "Hmm, it does look like a rosario, but why 'mother'? '

Yuuki just grinned, "It sounded cool, so why not?"

The man just chuckled, shaking his head, "Well, as long as you like it..."

Yuuki grinned, "Hehehe..."

Kirito let out a breath, "But seriously, I think you're the only one who can create a sword skill right off the bat on their first try."

The girl's grin didn't leave her face, "I'm just awesome like that."

Kirito chuckled, "Yeah yeah, keep telling yourself that."

The man then turned, "Well, that took less than I expected, that's all, right?"

Yuuki nodded, "Yep, thanks for the help."

Kirito chuckled, "I didn't do much, but sure, anytime."

He waved as he left the hall, leaving Yuuki alone.

(linebreak)

A few days later, Kirito and Eugeo were having lunch at the academy cafeteria, along with Ronye and Tiese.

Seven was somewhere around with Yuuki, Nori and Siune, while Tecchi, Jun and Talken were off with their own thing.

As Kirito and Eugeo bought their food from the counter, they caught sight of Raios and Humbert giving them hostile glares.

It wasn't exactly a secret that the two hated Kirito and Eugeo with passion. In fact, because of that, almost most of the academy students didn't really like the Raios and Humbert.

It had started when they found out Kirito scored first in the academy entrance exam, more specifically, after they found out Kirito and Eugeo were non-nobles. In the beginning, the two didn't really show much hostility towards them.

But ever since the start of their second year in the academy, it had gotten much worse. Annoyed gazes turned to hostile glares. And whenever they talked, Raios and Humbert would talk down on them if possible.

Today was no different. As Humbert and Raios glared at them murderously as Kirito and Eugeo sat down at their table.

Ronye and Tiese looked at their mentors worriedly and Ronye spoke, "Umm, Kirito-senpai..."

Kirito smiled softly at them, "Just ignore them."

Tiese and Ronye shared a glance, before they nodded reluctantly.

Seeing Kirito and Eugeo ignoring them, as they were expecting Eugeo or Kirito to confront them about glaring at them, Raios and Humbert both finished their meals and stormed away, with everyone avoiding them as the two spoiled nobles walked away.

(linebreak)

A week later, in one of the practical classes in the main training hall, the teacher was at the center of the hall, going on about the rules and ethics of a swordsman, duels and whatnot.

As he finished, the teacher spoke out loud, "Alright, so now, we will have mock battles. It's been a year and a half for all of you, so I'm pretty sure you all know how this goes."

The students all nodded. Usually, during these mock battle sessions, the teacher would select a few students and let them fight in the arena.

Today was no different.

As the teacher glanced around, he spotted Eugeo, and Humbert. The man nodded to himself and announced, "Eugeo, and Raios Antinous, may the two of you come down?"

The two blondes nodded, standing up from their seats and walked down.

As they did, Kirito gave Eugeo a grin and bumped fists with his brother, no words needed to be said as Eugeo made his way down.

Soon, the two blondes were standing in the middle of the ring, wooden swords in their hands.

Raios glared at Eugeo, his looking practically screaming, 'I'm gonna break that face of yours!'

Eugeo, however, just stood there, impassive, but ready to move at moments notice.

The teacher nodded, seeing the two students eager to begin, and he announced, "Alright, ready? Begin!"

In the next instant, Raios vanished, appearing in front of Eugeo, but the man was ready.

As Raios swung his sword, Eugeo raised his own, blocking it easily, before he pushed Raios' blade away with minimum amount of force, and struck the man in the chest with the butt of his hilt.

The strike sent Raios stumbling back a few feet away. At that point, Eugeo realised, he had never really seen Raios or Humbert fight.

The young man narrowed his eyes, staring at Raios who glared at him as he regained his balance.

Then, the long haired man took a stance. While not as good as Kirito, Eugeo was at least good enough to know where a sword skill would land, and how it would be, judging from the preparing stance.

From the looks of his stance, Raios was most likely slashing down diagonally from the right. In response, Eugeo took the stance for the Slant skill.

Then, in a flash of light red and blue, two swords met in the center of the arena.

For a brief moment, the two swords stood on equal ground, much to the noble's ire.

Then, Eugeo's eyes widened ever so slightly, and Raios' sword was sent flying out of his hands, as Eugeo completely overpowered him, the years of handling a rather heavy axe showing their results once again.

Then, Raios felt the touch of wood on his neck, as he glared at Eugeo, while raising his hands in a surrendering manner.

The teacher nodded in satisfaction at the display, and he announced, "Winner, Eugeo."

The class clapped in response, and Eugeo bowed slightly to Raios, who did it in return out of tradition, as both spoke, albeit the latter a bit forcefully, "Thank you for the spar."

The two rose from their bow and headed back to their seats, but as Eugeo walked away, he barely catched Raios growling, "This isn't over, peasant."

As Eugeo sat down, Kirito bumped fists with him, "Bro, that was awesome, you took him down in two moves!"

Nori grinned, "I know right, he didn't stand a chance!"

Eugeo chuckled, "Well..."

Before they could continue, the teacher announced the next set of names, and the class continued as the group chatted about bits and bits as they waited for their turn.

(linebreak)

A few days later after that class, nothing had much happened, and Kirito and Ronye were having lunch at a cafe off campus, before they headed back to train.

As they ate their food, Ronye's mind wandered off to a conversation she had with Tiese and Rain two days ago.

The two redheads had all but urged Ronye to confess how she felt about Kirito, and after she did it, Tiese would do the same for Eugeo.

Rain had besn rather adamant about that, as Kirito and Eugeo were graduating at the end of the year, and would most likely work as knights.

So, after gathering enough courage, Ronye decided she would tell Kirito how she felt. The question, was how she would do it.

The girl took a breath, before she asked, "Umm, Kirito-senpai..."

The man swallowed the food in his mouth and looked at his Valet curiously, "Hmm?"

The girl swallowed, feeling her cheeks slowly heating up, "Umm, I... A-are you dating a-anyone?"

Kirito blinked at the question, not catching her hint, before he smiled, "Somewhat, I suppose, its not official yet, I'll introduce you to her when she comes back."

Ronye froze, as Kirito continued, "I think you know her, her name is Sortiliena."

The girl's mind stopped, and she felt a pang of pain in her chest. Ronye took a breath, forcing herself to push down to growing sense of pain in her chest as she forced a smile, "I-I see, I look forward to it."

Kirito grinned, blissfully oblivious to what Ronye was feeling, "Yeah, I'm sure you'll like her."

The girl nodded stiffly, not trusting her own voice.

Ronye then set her utensils down and stood up, forcing a smile, "Umm, Kirito-senpai, I need to go to the washroom for a sec."

Kirito nodded, his smile never leaving his face, "Sure, I'll wait for you here."

Ronye nodded, before she turned and left the area, not for the washroom, but just someplace away from Kirito.

The girl started off by walking slowly, before her pace quickened, and it eventually turned into a run, as Ronye ran away from the restaurant.

And soon, she found a secluded place, a small empty playground near the walls separating the four parts of Centoria.

Ronye took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, to stop the tears from dropping, before she heard a familiar voice, "Ronye?"

The girl turned to see Tiese, carrying a bag of groceries. The redhead's gaze turned into one of worry once she saw Ronye's unshed tears.

Tiese quickly walked to her friend, "Ronye, what's wrong?"

The girl took a breath, managing to steady her breathing, and she forced a smile, "T-turns out Kirito-senpai already has a girlfriend, she's just out of town."

Tiese instantly understood what went wrong, and she quickly put down her stuff and brought Ronye into a hug.

Ronye blinked several times in surprise, before she forced a smile again, tears glistening in her eyes," I-I'm fine, Tiese... "

The redhead sighed softly, "It's alright to cry, Ronye."

The girl's smile fell, and she started sobbing, "I-I don't know why... But it hurts..."

Tiese just stayed silent, allowing her friend to vent. The redhead knew Ronye didn't just like Kirito, in fact, she could go as far to say that Ronye loved him.

After a full few minutes, Ronye managed to stop crying, and she separated from the hug, "Thank you, Tiese, I feel better now."

Tiese nodded, smiling softly, but was still worried for her friend, "Just don't push yourself too much."

Ronye smiled softly, "It'll take some time to get over it, but I'll be fine."

The redhead smiled, before she shook her head, "I didn't say you should stop, all's fair in love and war. Who knows, you might win."

Ronye frowned softly and shook her head, "No, I... I don't think I can do that..."

Tiese smiled, "It's your choice, I just want you to know that there is that option for you."

Ronye smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Tiese."

Before they could continue however, they heard a familiar voice, "Oh, aren't you two Kirito and Eugeo's Valets?"

(moments ago)

The two prideful nobles were having a stroll, taking a break after their training session.

As they walked, Raios and Humbert noticed two familiar girls at an empty playground. It was obvious the girl with short black hair, Ronye, if Raios remembered correctly, had recently faced some emotional problems, and the redhead was comforting her.

Humbert spoke up, "Hey, Raios, aren't those two... ?"

Raios nodded, as a smirk appeared on his face, a plan forming into his mind to get back at Kirito and Eugeo, "Yes, yes they are."

The blonde chuckled lightly, "Come on, Humbert, let's g

The two girls turned, and saw Raios and Humbert standing there, smirking at them.

Ronye and Tiese both instantly became wary, both not unfamiliar with how Raios and Humbert thought of their mentors.

Humbert smirked, before spoke in fake worry, "Were you crying? Do you need someone to talk to?"

Tiese lowered her head respectfully, "Thank you for your concern, but that is not needed."

Ronye wisely shut up, not trusting herself to speak, knowing with her current state of mind, she would probably get both of them into trouble.

But Raios and Humbert weren't that eager to let them go, as the blonde man had a light smirk on his face, "Are you rejecting our generous offer?"

Tiese and Ronye both stayed silent, but the answer was pretty obvious, even for both Raios and Humbert.

But the two higher nobles were very much intent on getting back at Kirito and Eugeo, and what better way than using their prized Valets?

Staring at Ronye's red eyes, the blonde man was genuinely curious as to why Ronye wasn't with Kirito. Granted, every time he saw her and the redhead, it was always with Kirito and Eugeo.

Taking a wild guess, Raios smirked, "It wouldn't have something to do with your dear mentor, wouldn't it?"

The flinch from Ronye gave him the answer he needed, as Ronye spoke up, "I-its none of your business!"

Raios thought, 'Bingo.'

The blonde man's smirk turned sinister, "Careful with that tone there, don't wanna forget who you're talking to now, do you?"

Ronye and Tiese both paled, as Raios continued, "But I've been in a bad mood these few days, and its because of your dear mentors."

Raios' smirk vanished, "So, for that disrespectful tone, I believe some punishment is in order, no?"

Humbert smirked, realizing what his friend was doing, and decided to keep quiet as Raios did his work.

The two girls paled, and Tiese spoke up, lowering her head slightly, "We didn't mean it in a disrespectful way, please just let us go."

Raios walked right up to them, "Unfortunately, you refused our goodwill, and then you raise your voice at me. I don't think I can let that go so easily, ya know?"

The blonde man then smirked, "Besides, who would the people believe, a well known noble like me? Or someone like the two of you?"

Tiese and Ronye blanched, both taking a step back, and Raios smirked, "Besides, Ronye Arabel, and Tiese Shtolienen, if I remember correctly, what do you think would happen, if my father decided they were hindrances to him?"

The two girls paled, and Raios' smirk widened, 'Well, father would never do that, stupid noblesse oblige and shit, but they don't need to know.'

The man focused back on the two girls in front of him, "So, would you rather face punishment here, or would you rather something _worse_ happen?"

The two girls just stayed silent, and Raios smirked, knowing their answer, "Good, now, follow me, we'll sort out your punishments."

The blonde turned to Humbert, "Let's go."

The grey haired man smirked gleefully and nodded, "Of course."

Then, before they left, Raios added, "Oh, and Humbert, get your Valet to give Kirito and Eugeo the message."

The man nodded and left to find his Valet, while Ronye and Tiese unwillingly followed Raios.

(meanwhile)

After fifteen minutes, Kirito looked at Ronye's plate, half filled with food. The man furrowed his brows, 'Ronye isn't back yet...'

Feeling something was wrong, Kirito quickly paid the bill and went to search for his Valet.

The man reached the nearest toilet, and realized he couldn't enter the female washrooms to search for his Valet.

Spotting a middle aged woman walking out of the toilets, Kirito called out, "Excuse me ma'am, have you seen a girl with short black hair and light blue eyes? She should be wearing our academy uniform too."

The woman looked at Kirito, recognising his uniform, and she shook her head, "Sorry, can't say I have."

Kirito furrowed his brows worriedly, "Can you check the washroom? She said she was coming here just now."

The woman shook her head, "The washrooms are empty, I was the only one inside."

Kirito frowned, and he nodded, "I see... Thank you."

The woman nodded with a soft smile, "No worries, good luck looking for your friend."

Kirito nodded and turned, walking to search somewhere else.

As he walked, Kirito spotted Eugeo walking in front of him. The man jogged lightly up to his brother and called, "Eugeo."

The blonde turned his head to see Kirito, and smiled, "Kirito, 'sup."

Kirito stopped in front of him and asked, "Hey, you seen Ronye?"

Eugeo blinked, "Hmm? Wasn't she with you?"

The man shook his head, "She was, but she left for the washroom, and it's been fifteen minutes."

Eugeo chuckled, "You sure she still isn't in the washroom? You know how girls are..."

Kirito shook his head, "I checked, she wasn't there."

The blonde raised an eyebrow, "I see..."

Eugeo then nodded, "I'll help you look then, she can't have gone that far."

Kirito nodded, "Thanks."

The two then walked around, asking people if they'd seen Ronye. But to Kirito's ire, none of them had seen Ronye, apart from when he was with her.

The two continued searching for a short while, until they spotted a girl wearing the year 1 academy uniform running to them, a panicked expression on her face.

The girl panted, "Kirito-senpai, Eugeo-senpai!"

Kirito recognised her as one of Ronye's friends, having seen her with Ronye once in the academy, Frenica Szeski, if he remembered correctly, "You're Frenica, right?"

Frenica nodded, "Yes, but that's not important, Humbert and Raios have Ronye and Tiese."

That caused Kirito and Eugeo's eyes to widen, the latter said, "What?"

Frenica nodded, "Somehow, they made it so that they were legal to inflict punishment on Ronye and Tiese, now they are in Humbert's room!"

Kirito and Eugeo shared a look, and they spoke in unison, "Bring us there."

(linebreak)

After a few minutes, Kirito and Eugeo were in front of Humbert's room, and Frenica backed away, saying as she did, "Please, save Ronye and Tiese."

Kirito looked at the girl, noticing her terrified expression, and turned to Eugeo.

The blonde nodded at his brother and they pushed the door open.

The sight that met them caused their blood to boil.

In front of them, on Humbert's king sized bed, were Ronye and Tiese, both tied up with rope, and their clothes half torn apart.

Ronye's eyes widened, tears glistening in her eyes from having her clothes torn off, "K-kirito-senpai!"

Tiese was the same, her eyes widening in surprise, "E-eugeo-senpai!"

Kirito and Eugeo both gave them reassuring nods, before they looked at the two men standing by the bed, both half naked.

The tall blonde smirked, "Ah, Disciple Kirito, Disciple Eugeo, to what do we owe the pleasure?"

Kirito glared at them, not bothering with how Raios didn't refer to them with their seats, "Cut the bullshit, let them go."

Humbert laughed, "Unfortunately for you peasants, this is their punishment for disrespecting us."

Raios smirked triumphantly at the two swordsmen, "Exactly, its all under the law, you can't stop us. That is, unless you wanna break the law."

Kirito and Eugeo both seethed under their breaths. If what Frenica said was true, then Ronye and Tiese had really somehow disrespected Raios and Humbert.

Thus according to the Taboo Index, as long as it didn't involve bodily harm, anything Raios and Humbert judged to be their punishment was viable.

Raios smirked, glancing at Humbert, who started to caress Tiese's chest, causing her to yelp.

Eugeo's eyes burned with anger, but before he couldn't do anything. The Taboo Index was very clear, having stated that no one could interfere with a noble exercising judgement.

Raios smirked, starting to caress Ronye's body as well, causing the girl to struggle to move away from him, "K-kirito-senpai!"

Eugeo growled, "Kirito..."

The man nodded, "Yeah. Unforgivable..."

Both of their hands inched over to their swords, something that Raios quickly noticed. The man's eyes widened, 'They don't mean to!'

The blonde quickly rolled off the bed, something that Humbert didn't do as he was obviously too focused on Tiese's body, that, and he believed that Kirito and Eugeo couldn't do anything to them due to the Taboo Index and the law.

In a flash of black and blue, Humbert's head and right arm fell onto the floor, splashing both Tiese and Ronye with blood, also staining the bed with it, as Humbert's corpse fell onto the ground with a loud thud.

Raios frowned, not really concerned with Humbert's death, the grey haired man was nothing more than a pawn. He smirked, this was actually better, now he had a legal reason to cut down both Kirito and Eugeo.

The blonde noble smirked, "Now you've done it, Disciple Kirito, no, Criminals Kirito and Eugeo!"

The two turned to him, both glaring murderously at him, as Raios continued, "By the law and the Taboo Index, and by the name of my Antinous family, I sentence both of you to death!"

Kirito glanced at Eugeo, "Eugeo, can you leave him to me?"

Eugeo wanted nothing more than to cut down Raios' annoying face, and seeing how they already killed Humbert, they might as well just kill Raios as well, but he nodded, "Okay."

Kirito stalked forward, his Night Sky Sword glistening with eagerness to spill blood.

Raios smirked, brandishing his sword, "This is really a wonderful day! This must really be the guidance of Lady Stacia, no, I might even go so far to say this is the guidance of Lady Quinella! To be able to finally take care of you two peasants!"

Kirito felt a sense of annoyance when Raios mentioned Stacia, more so when he mentioned Quinella, and it served to further fuel his anger, "Are you done?"

Raios raised an eyebrow, "So eager to die?"

The man narrowed his eyes, "No, just eager to dispose of something worse than a goblin."

Raios growled at the insult, "For that insult, I will make your death as painful as it can get!"

The blonde noble charged, swinging his sword down at Kirito. But the man was ready, positioning his sword into his sheath, Kirito swiftly drew it, the blade glowing a bright red, "Aincrad style: Full Counter."

The moment the blades met, Raios roared in pain as he backed away, over a thousand scratches appearing on his body.

The noble winced in pain, "W-what is this?!"

Kirito stayed silent, instead, his sword glowed again, this time bright blue, "Aincrad style: Slant."

In a flash of blue, Kirito swung his sword down, and an arm landed on the floor right beside him.

Raios screamed in horror as blood sprayed out of the stump that used to be his left arm, "M-my arm!"

But Kirito wasn't done. Drawing his blade back, it glowed light blue again, "Aincrad style: Vertical Square!"

In the next instant, Kirito moved, swinging his sword down from above, slicing down onto Raios' right shoulder.

Then, pulling his sword up, Kirito sliced off Raios' right leg, before he spun, doing the same with the left leg.

This sent Raios' legs falling to the ground, and before Raios himself could fall, Kirito brought his sword down, slicing the noble cleanly in half before the man could even scream.

Kirito let out a breath, brandishing his sword to get the blood off of it, before he turned to look at Eugeo, Ronye and Tiese, both of them free from their bindings.

The man noticed Tiese had Eugeo's shirt on, while Ronye was covering herself with the sheets.

Letting out a breath, Kirito took off his shirt and gave it to Ronye, who wordlessly wore it, obviously traumatised by the events that took place.

Kirito helped Ronye off of the bed, "Let's go back."

Ronye only nodded, but before they could, a voice stopped them, "Singular Units Detected. ID Tracing. Coordinate fixed. Report complete."

The four turned to see the blank face in the air, before it vanished, and the four of them realized what had happened.

Tears rolled down Ronye's face, "I-I'm very sorry! Because of me-"

Kirito cut her off, smiling, "It's okay, Ronye, it's not your fault."

Ronye protested, "But it's because I ran off that this happened!"

This time Eugeo smiled and spoke up, "Like Kirito said, its not your fault, you too, Tiese."

Tiese looked down, "Eugeo-senpai..."

Kirito smiled, "Come on, let's go get you two cleaned up."

The girls nodded, before they silently followed their mentors out.

(linebreak)

After leaving Raios' room, Kirito and Eugeo had brought Ronye and Tiese to an instructor named Azurica, and she quickly took care of the two girls.

Now, Azurica was standing in front of Kirito and Eugeo in the corridors. The woman sighed, a sad smile on her face, "I knew the two of you would be troublemakers, but I didn't think you'd go that far."

Kirito chuckled sheepishly, "Well, what can I say, trouble finds us more than we find them."

Eugeo smiled as well, but he kept silent.

Azurica smiled softly, "To be frank, I'm glad you did what you did, Kirito, Eugeo. If not, who knows what might happen to Ronye and Tiese, mentally if not physically."

Both young men nodded, as the woman continued, "Still, because the Taboo Index and the law, and the loopholes they contain, many nobles misuse their authority, and unfortunately, that's something no one could fix."

Azurica sighed, shaking her head, "Sorry, I got off tracked. At this point, an Integrity Knight will come for you two, most likely in a few hours or tomorrow in the morning."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, and Azurica's smile fell, "I'm sorry I cannot do more, the best I can do is just provide you two fresh clothes."

Eugeo smiled, "It's okay, we'll figure it out somehow, even if we become outlaws."

Kirito smiled, "Yeah, worst case scenario, we can just escape and live in the Dark Territory."

Azurica gaped at them, before she let out a chuckle, "To even suggest such a thing, you two are something else."

The instructor let out a breath, "I pray the two of you find light when you reach the cathedral, may the gods be with you."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, the latter speaking, "Thank you, Ms Azurica."

The instructor nodded, "Go get some rest, I'm sure it must have been a long day for you."

The woman then turned and walked away, leaving the brothers, before they too headed for their rooms.

(linebreak)

The next day, the two young men were in front of one of the training halls.

Azurica had brought them over when she was informed that an Integrity Knight was here for them.

Kirito glanced at his brother, "Well, this is it."

Eugeo smiled wistfully, "And we didn't even get to graduate, I guess we can't fulfill our promises then, both to Alice and Bercouli-sensei."

Kirito shared the same wistful smile, "Hey, we still get to go to the Central Cathedral anyway."

Eugeo chuckled, "I suppose we do..."

The black haired man then placed a hand on the door, "Let's just hurry up and get over with it, right?"

Eugeo chuckled and nodded, as Kirito opened the door, before they walked in.

As they did, the two men stopped in their tracks, as in front of them stood two figures clad in armor.

The taller one was a man with light purple armor, his hair sharing the same shade, a whip and a sword on his waist.

But what caught Kirito and Eugeo's eyes wasn't the man, rather, the young woman who stood beside him.

Light golden hair trailed down the back of the armor, as the young woman smiled with nostalgia at the brothers, "Its been a long time, Kirito, Eugeo."

XXX

DONE! So that is the latest chapter, we are officially heading off further towards the more important parts now!

Now, I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but I took away the seal of the eye thing, so yeah.

So the next chapter will feature the long awaited reunion, and several other stuff.

So yeah, review please, and I'll see y'all next time.


	68. Chapter 68

Hey guys, I finished the chapter sooner than I expected, so here it is.

So anyways, after revising the members Integrity Knights in canon, I realized that there were only very few known knights out of the 31 knights.

So, apart from Bercouli, Fanatio, her four knights, Eldrie and Alice, I've decided I would fill in most of the other knights.

The ones revealed in canon so far are still gonna be here, but their numbers might change, and the ones that I will add will all be from different series.

So for reference, I have added a list of the knights I have in this story at the bottom of this chapter.

So yeah, on to replies to the reviews,

To the **Guest** , that reunion will come, not now, but it will come.

To **NeonGamer973,** thanks, and yeah, I live in Asia too, just that I usually write before I sleep, that's all haha.

To **Guest Questioner** , First, yes, that was Gladio from FFXV, only younger and weaker.

Second, yes, Eugeo will get some attention from girls. CoughTiesecoughSelkacough

Third, yeap, Rain, Seven, Sumeragi are all here. Yuuki too.

Fourth, well, I just wanted Ronye to be stronger than canon haha.

To **DaManWOFear,** thank your for the review. Yes, I wanted to do my own take of the Alicization arc, so I changed stuff that I didn't really like. As for what Alice will do, well, find out in this chapter haha.

XXX

The two brothers stared at the girl in front of them, clad in golden armor.

The girl smiled, "It's been a long time, Kirito, Eugeo."

Kirito was the first to recover from his stupor, "A-Alice?"

Alice nodded, her smile not leaving her face, and before she could say anything, she was caught in a hug by both brothers.

Alice's eyes widened, before they softened, and she returned the hug.

The man beside Alice frowned, but did not say a thing.

After a short moment, the three childhood friends separated, and Eugeo asked, "Alice, you're an Integrity Knight?"

Alice nodded, "Yep, Ojii-sama, umm sorry, Commander Bercouli took me in when I reached the cathedral."

The purple haired man frowned, as he spoke up, "Alice-sama, shouldn't we get going? I understand you have not seen them for a long time, but they are criminals."

Alice glanced at the man, "It's fine, Eldrie, besides, we're not really here to bring them back as criminals."

Eldrie blinked, "W-what?"

Alice also noticed Kirito and Eugeo's confused faces, and she looked at them, "It'd be better for Oji-sama to explain when we get back."

The girl then looked at the swords at Kirito and Eugeo's waists, "I'll be taking your swords, to make sure no one suspects, okay?"

Kirito and Eugeo both shared a glance, and they nodded, handing their swords to Alice.

Alice nodded as she took the swords, "We'll also have to tie you to our dragons, alright?"

The brothers nodded, and the four of them headed outside the hall, as two large dragons landed on the ground.

Kirito and Eugeo gaped at the dragons, as the former spoke in awe, "T-these are yours?"

Eldrie kept silent, as Alice nodded, "Yep, Amayori, and Takiguri. Each Integrity Knight has one."

Kirito marvelled at the dragon, "That's pretty awesome..."

Alice smiled softly, "I suppose it is."

The girl then started tying Kirito and Eugeo with chains to Amayori and Takiguri, ensuring that the chains weren't too tight to cause discomfort but enough so they wouldn't fall.

Alice mounted her dragon, Eldrie following suit, and she looked at Kirito and Eugeo, "We'll be taking off now, careful not to fall."

She smiled at that last part, enjoying the nervous faces of her childhood friends.

Then, right as she was about to take flight, Alice heard a voice calling out, "Wait!"

The thirtieth Integrity Knight turned, to see Ronye and Tiese running to them, the redhead saying out loudly, "Excuse me, Lady Knight, but, can you please give us a bit of time with them?"

Eldrie was about to deny the request, when Alice shot him a look, shutting him up, before she nodded at Ronye and Tiese, "Very well, I'll grant you a few minutes."

Ronye and Tiese both had relieved faces, bowing gratefully to Alice, before they went to Kirito and Eugeo respectively.

With Kirito, the man smiled at Ronye, "Ronye, I-"

He was cut off, as Ronye caught him in a kiss right on the lips.

After a few seconds, Ronye separated from the kiss, leaving one gaping Kirito. The girl looked down, feeling her face redden, "I know you already have someone, but... I still want to tell you, that I really like you!"

Kirito's mind took a full second to reboot, and he stared at Ronye in surprise, "R-ronye..."

The girl wiped away the unshed tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry, but I was afraid I won't be able to tell you anymore."

Kirito was speechless, before Ronye smiled forcefully and brought out a packet of buns, "I bought this just now, so you and Eugeo-senpai can eat them when you reach the cathedral."

Ronye tucked the bag of buns into Kirito's pocket and backed away, "I'm really sorry, Kirito-senpai, because of me, you ended up like this."

It took a second for Kirito to process her words, before he sighed, "Ronye, come closer a bit..."

Ronye blinked in surprise, and she did, before Kirito gave her a light but still painful headbutt.

The girl rubbed her forehead painfully, "W-why?"

Kirito stared at her sternly, "I said it before, it's not your fault. Get it out of your mind, it was our choice to kill Raios and Humbert, so don't feel guilty about it."

Ronye blinked several times before she smiled, "Okay..."

Kirito grinned, "Heh, don't worry about us, worry about actually passing your exams, I can't help you anymore now after all."

Ronye just smiled, but before she could say anything else, Alice's voice reached them, "Alright, times up."

The girl glanced at Alice's stern face, before she gave Kirito one last hug, "Thank you for everything, Kirito-senpai, you'll always be in my heart."

Kirito just smiled, "Yeah."

The girl then pulled away, as Alice and Eldrie willed their dragons to rise from the ground, before they flew away, leaving two teary eyed Valets staring at the vanishing figures of their mentors.

With Kirito, he noticed Eugeo's blank face, and he could pretty much guess what Tiese told him, "Hey bro, so, Tiese told you she liked you?"

Eugeo glanced at his brother, and he nodded, "I.. I don't know how to feel..."

Kirito chuckled, "You and me both, I already have Liena, and now Ronye... I don't know what to do when I see them again."

Eugeo just smiled, deciding to stay silent.

At the same time, Alice, who was riding on Amayori, furrowed her eyebrows, ever so slightly.

For some reason, seeing Ronye kiss Kirito had made her feel uncomfortable. The knight closed her eyes for a moment, before deciding to push those thoughts away.

After that, the ride back to the Central Cathedral was quiet, mostly because the four of them couldn't talk over the wind.

Soon, the two dragons reached the tower, and they landed on the platform with a loud thud, sending Kirito and Eugeo crashing onto the platform rolling at the same time.

The two brothers groaned, as Alice giggled, with Eldrie smirking at the scene. Even the dragons were laughing at the sight.

Kirito groaned, "You did it on purpose didn't you?!"

Eugeo groaned in agreement as he rolled on the ground so that he was facing up.

Alice quickly untied the two, before she helped them up, a bright innocent smile on her face, "Well, it was pretty funny."

Eugeo sighed, "For you, maybe."

Eldrie frowned at the display, before he forced it down, "Let's go."

Alice smiled softly, "Alright, let's go."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded and followed Alice and Eldrie into the tower.

Soon, the four reached the resting lounge for the knights, and they were met with Bercouli, Fanatio, a blonde knight with bloody red eyes clad in golden armor, and a female knight clad in silver armor with a blue skirt, her hair tied into a bun.

As they entered, Bercouli grinned, "Yo, Kirito, Eugeo, Eldrie, Alice."

Kirito and Eugeo's eyes widened as they saw their mentor, the former exclaiming, "Bercouli-sensei!"

The man in golden armor smirked as he swirled the glass of wine in his hand, "Bercouli-sensei, huh?"

Bercouli spared the man a glance, and smirked lightly, "At least I have students."

The man smirked, "Heh, as if anyone can learn how I fight."

The woman in silver armor had a light smile, "If I didn't know better, I'd say he was lazy."

The blonde man smirked, "Heh, but enough about me."

He looked at Kirito and Eugeo, sizing them up, "Hmm, not bad, but they still don't stand up to me."

Fanatio sighed, rubbing her temples, "Of course..."

The woman in golden armor looked at Kirito and Eugeo, "Don't mind him, Gilgamesh just has a huge superiority complex and inferiority complex."

The now revealed Gilgamesh just huffed and leaned on the couch, taking a sip from his glass of wine, but his smirk didn't leave his face.

Bercouli chuckled, before he stood up, "I suppose a formal introduction is in order. As you know, I am Bercouli Synthesis One, the first Integrity Knight."

Fanatio nodded, "My name is Fanatio Synthesis Two, as my name suggests, I'm the second Integrity Knight, after Bercouli."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, oh'ing, before the woman clad in silver armor and the blue dress spoke, "I suppose I will go next. I am Artoria Synthesis Four."

Kirito was about to open his mouth to ask a question, but Artoria cut him off, "And no, I am not Alice's long lost sister or anything."

Kirito and Eugeo both closed their mouths before they could ask the question, while Bercouli and Fanatio chuckled.

Alice piped in, "Actually, she's more like my great grandmother."

Artoria stared sternly at the smiling girl and she said warningly, "Alice, don't go there."

Bercouli chuckled to Fanatio, "Wait till they see the others..."

The second knight just smiled in amusement before Artoria sighed, "And he's-"

Gilgamesh cut her off, staring at the two young men, "Gilgamesh Synthesis Three, remember that. You may be Bercouli's students, but until you prove yourselves as Integrity Knights, you'll be mongrels to me. Got that?"

Kirito and Eugeo could only nod, not knowing what to answer, and Fanatio smiled patting both of them on the shoulder, "Ignore that part, I'm sure you're both ready."

It was only then did Kirito and Eugeo realized what they were talking about, and the latter asked, "Wait, I thought we were here because we violated the Taboo Index?"

Bercouli chuckled, "Ah, about that."

The man cleared his throat and he looked at his students seriously, "Kirito, Eugeo, I want you two, to answer me honestly."

The two young men nodded, and Bercouli asked, "Tell me, why did you kill those two nobles?"

Kirito and Eugeo shared a glance, and Eugeo nodded, motioning Kirito to answer.

The black haired man nodded, and he looked at Bercouli, "Raios Antinous and Humbert Zizek were abusing their authority as high class nobles to sexually harass, no, rape our Valets, regardless of our warnings for them to stop. So we were forced to rely on lethal force."

Bercouli nodded, and a grin appeared on his face, "Well then, that pretty much settles it."

Kirito and Eugeo both gaped, and Eugeo said, "Wait, what?"

The knights around them, save for Eldrie, all laughed/chuckled, and Fanatio smiled in a motherly manner, "Kirito, Eugeo, you violating the Index, just to save your Valets from rape, is very admirable, and it wouldn't be fair to send you to prison for that."

Bercouli chuckled, "Yep, so, I have decided, seeing as sending you two to prison would be a waste of potential, the two of you, will serve as Integrity Knights, to make up for your sins."

Kirito and Eugeo both blinked several times, before they shared a grin, but before they could answer, Eldrie cut in, "Wait! We're making them Integrity Knights?!"

The six of them looked at Eldrie, and Alice spoke warningly, "Eldrie, no."

The man frowned and spoke out firmly, "No! Commander, Lady Fanatio, Lady Alice, your relationship with them is clouding your judgement. They are _criminals_! How can we make them one of us?!"

Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes, "Hey mongrel, careful with that mouth of yours, you still have yet to prove yourself."

Eldrie's eyes hardened, "With all due respect, they are criminals, they violated the Taboo Index. Them standing here is already pardoning them enough."

Bercouli sighed as he rubbed his temples, "Ah, I see what's the problem now."

The first knight stared at the man, "Eldrie, you became a knight because you won the tournament, and you caught Lady Quinella's eye. I don't know if you know, but there are many of us here who became an Integrity Knight because they violated the Taboo Index."

Eldrie's eyes widened, "W-what?"

Fanatio nodded, "Yep, I actually became a knight after I killed a noble who wanted to rape me."

Artoria nodded, "Also to remind you, Mordred joined us even though she rebelled against my country."

Alice nodded, adding in, "I also came here because I violated the Taboo Index of crossing the border."

Eldrie gaped, as Gilgamesh smirked, "Point, mongrel, just because they violated the oh-so-great Taboo Index, doesn't mean they aren't qualified to be an Integrity Knight."

The purple haired knight narrowed his eyes, "Even so, I don't approve either of them as one of us."

Alice sighed, "Eldrie..."

The knight glared at Kirito and Eugeo, "I challenge you to a duel! If I win, then the two of you will be sent to the dungeons!"

Alice snapped her head at her student, "That's enough!"

But before she could go further, Alice stopped as she saw Kirito glance at her.

Kirito stared at Eldrie straight into the eyes, "I don't know what we did to you, but if that's what you want, then you're on."

The black haired man looked at his brother, "Eugeo, can you leave this to me?"

Eugeo saw the look in Kirito's eyes and smiled, nodding, "Okay."

Kirito nodded, and he looked at Eldrie, "Then that's settled, you and I will have a one on one duel. You win, Eugeo and I go to prison. That's fine, right?"

Eldrie nodded, before he turned to head for the training area of the tower.

Bercouli sighed, "That lil idiot..."

Artoria let out a breath, "He places our positions as Integrity Knights on a pedestal, as if it is a privilege."

Gilgamesh smirked, swirling his glass of wine, "Well, he's not wrong about that, that is, if that's the only thing he has against them."

Fanatio looked at Kirito with a slightly worried gaze, "But will he be okay?"

Bercouli smirked, "Heh, if its Kirito, I'm sure he'll win."

His smirk faded a bit, "That is, if Eldrie doesn't use his Armament Full Control Arts."

Kirito raised an eyebrow, "Armament Full Control Arts?"

Fanatio nodded, "Yes, its an art all Integrity Knights with a Divine Class weapon can use."

Artoria added in, "Basically, it makes usage of the history of the weapon to enhance it."

Kirito and Eugeo shared a glance at that.

Eugeo then asked, "So, do our weapons have that?"

Gilgamesh smirked, "Of course, as insignificant your weapons are, they are still considered Divine Class Objects."

Alice nodded, "But you two have yet to start developing them, so you can't use them."

Bercouli nodded, "Exactly, we'll have to get you started after this little duel."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, before they all headed for the training area.

Soon, the five of them reached the training area, a huge hall with a training boundary at the center of the hall, with numerous other training platforms around the hall.

In the middle of the training platform, stood Eldrie, calmly waiting for Kirito.

Kirito let out a breath, as he started walking towards Eldrie, when Alice stopped him.

The man looked at his friend confusedly, "What's wrong, Alice?"

The girl looked at him, "Eldrie specialises in-"

She was cut off as Kirito shook his head, "No need to tell me, it won't be fair if I go in knowing his abilities, while he doesn't know mine."

Bercouli chuckled, "He's right, young lady. Let them fight as they are."

Alice sighed and nodded, before giving Kirito a glance, "Just be careful."

The man just grinned and went to stand in front of Eldrie.

The purple haired knight stared sternly at the man, while Kirito stared back with equal, if more intensity.

Bercouli walked and stood in the middle between both swordsmen, "Alright, given this is a duel, I'll proctor the match that fine with you two?"

Kirito and Eldrie both nodded, and Bercouli cleared his throat, "Good, then, begin!"

Immediately, Eldrie drew his sword, taking an offensive stance, while Kirito did the same.

For a few moments, both swordsmen stood still as water, before they vanished.

Eldrie charged forward, swinging his sword down in attempt to end the fight quickly.

Kirito saw the strike coming, and a grin appeared on his face. Swiftly pulling his sword back to his waist, Kirito muttered, "Aincrad style: Full Counter."

His black blade glowed bright red, and Bercouli grinned in anticipation, as Kirito struck Eldrie's sword, though holding back so that he wouldn't fatally injure the man.

Eldrie winced in pain, as he felt a sharp jolt through his entire body. He recognised the technique, it was one of Bercouli's sword arts, but one he didn't use too frequently.

The man was about to accuse of Kirito about stealing techniques, before he remembered Kirito was Bercouli's student.

The man took a breath, retaking his stance, before he realized something. He had no flesh wounds, even if his blade was swung with the intent to severely injure, if not kill, Kirito.

Eldrie glared at Kirito, "Are you mocking me?"

Kirito raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

The purple haired knight growled, "That technique, you held back, didn't you?"

The man nodded, understanding Eldrie's question, "Yeah, this is a duel after all."

Eldrie growled under his breath, 'So he thinks he can beat me without going all out?!'

The purple haired knight forced himself to calm down, but still glared at Kirito, 'I'll show him what happens when you underestimate me!'

Eldrie charged forward, his sword glowing light blue as he swung it down.

Kirito easily recognised it as the sword skill Vertical, and he countered it with his own, as his blade glowed blue.

The man let out a breath, "Aincrad style: Horizontal."

In the next instant, Kirito and Eldrie were in front of each other. The purple haired knight swung his blade down, while Kirito swung his sword horizontally.

The blades clashed, and Eldrie gritted his teeth as he struggled to push against Kirito, 'A criminal he may be, but he's good.'

Soon, the clash blasted both men away, and the two quickly regained their footing.

Kirito narrowed his eyes, as he visualized the next skill he wanted to use.

As for Eldrie, he realized, he couldn't win by just using his sword as he initially intended, and he reached for his whip.

Then, Kirito charged forward with a burst of speed, his sword glowing crimson, "Aincrad style: Vorpal Strike!"

In response, Eldrie's whip lashed out, striking Kirito right in the stomach from the left, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Kirito's eyes widened as he swiftly rolled to his feet just in time to dodge the whip again.

The man narrowed his eyes as he studied the whip. It was roughly four to five meters long, meaning he had to either keep his distance, or charge straight in.

The former was counter productive, so he had to get close, close enough so that Eldrie couldn't use his whip effectively.

Then came the second question. How could he get in close without Eldrie stopping him with the whip?

The answer was simple. Kirito would have to wait for Eldrie to send the whip at him. Then there would be a small opening that would allow him to charge in.

Reckless, yes. But it was the only thing Kirito could think of.

The man let out a breath, waiting for Eldrie to lash out his whip. And fortunately for Kirito, while Eldrie was normally a patient and calm-headed man at his best, it was obvious Eldrie wasn't calm at all.

After a few minutes, which seemed like eternity, Eldrie got impatient, and he sent his whip out.

That was his mistake.

The moment the whip reached him, Kirito rolled forward onto ground, before he charged straight in, his sword poised to strike.

The knight cursed, as he tried to pull his whip back, but he was too late, as Kirito was already in front of him, and the black haired man struck Eldrie's 'whip-arm' hard, effectively stopping him from doing anything.

Eldrie growled, his eyes darting to the side. By now, there were several more knights watching the duel, aside from Bercouli, Fanatio, Artoria, Alice and Eugeo.

He cursed himself for being so careless. If he didn't do anything else, he would lose. If he used his Full Armament Control Arts, he would win, but he would become laughing stock for using it against someone who didn't have access to it in a duel.

Either way, Eldrie was going to lose, but at least he could make sure Kirito and Eugeo would be sent to prison.

Right as Kirito was about to swing his sword at Eldrie's neck to end the duel, Eldrie narrowed his eyes at Kirito, "ENHANCE ARMAMENT! RELEASE RECOLLECTION!"

Kirito's eyes widened, as right as he was about to swing his sword, he felt something grab hold of it, and pulled him back hard, sending him crashing into the ground.

The announcement surprised most of the audience, as they had not expected Eldrie to go so far.

Alice clenched her fists, "Eldr-"

She was cut off by a female knight wearing silver and red armor, her blonde hair tied a short pony tail. The knight shook her head, "He's your childhood friend, right, Alice? Have some faith in him."

Alice blinked, "Mordred?"

Mordred grinned, before she glanced back at the fight, "Sides, I don't think he'll go down that easily."

Alice looked back to the fight to see Kirito standing up, staring warily at the snake that used to be Eldrie's whip.

Mordred then looked at Bercouli, "Hey old man, let them continue, you're fine with that, right?"

The first knight smirked, "Yeah sure."

Alice sighed and nodded, "Fine..."

Eugeo smiled and patted Alice's shoulder, "Don't worry, Kirito's strong."

The girl just nodded, focusing on the match.

Back with Kirito, he eyed the snake that used to be a whip, connected to the handle in Eldrie's hand.

The knight seemed to notice Kirito's gaze, and he smirked, "This is my Full Armament Control Art. My Frost Scale Whip used to be a Divine Level snake, and by unleashing its memories, it can move on its own."

The statement caused Kirito to curse silently, that meant getting in close was gonna be much harder than before.

The swordsman let out a breath, weighing his options. Sword arts wouldn't do much now.

But before he could think further, the snake shot forward at him. On instinct, Kirito tried to slash at the snake, but he had forgotten that this wasn't just a normal snake.

A normal snake wouldn't be able to change its trajectory once it jumped at its target, so it would be possible to slash it down. But not this one.

As soon as Kirito's sword touched the snake, it coiled around the Night Sky Sword, further coiling up to Kirito's arm, effectively binding him.

Kirito grunted as he tried to wrestle free from the snake. But then, the snake pulled hard, causing him to lurch forward, right as Eldrie sent a kick to his stomach, sending him to the floor again.

Kirito growled and got up, only for the process to repeat itself.

And after a few minutes, Kirito was on his knees panting, his body full of bruises from the hits Eldrie gave him.

At this point, there were even more knights watching the duel, and while most didn't approve of Eldrie using his Full Armament Control Arts in that manner, some were very much interested to see what Kirito could do.

Alice clenched her fists, and tried to step in, but Eugeo stopped her, "Alice, wait."

The girl looked at Eugeo, and he nodded at her. Alice sighed, "Fine..."

Back to the fight, Kirito growled as he struggled to his feet again, before he used his left free arm to block a kick from Eldrie.

He let out a tired breath, 'What to do...'

Eldrie stared down at Kirito, "Give up. You cannot win, don't embarrass yourself anymore than you already have."

Kirito chuckled as he got up to one knee, "Sorry, but you won't get me to give up so easily."

Eldrie's eyes hardened, "Then so be it."

The man pulled hard, causing Kirito to lurch forward again, right into a punch to the face from the purple haired knight.

The punch sent him sprawling to the ground right to the edge of the platform.

The man groaned silently, his ears ringing. Kirito thought, 'Dammit, really need to get that snake away...'

He tried to think of a way to bring the snake away, before he heard a chuckle, "Quite the predicament you're facing eh?"

Kirito groaned, "W-what? Who?"

The voice answered, "I wake up after so long, to find you in a spar. Well, I suppose I could lend you a hand."

Kirito was confused, regardless of his ringing ears, "What?"

The voice spoke one last time, "Don't worry, this won't hurt. On a side note, this might finally give them what they need to connect to us."

Kirito blinked, before he felt a surge of power flow through his body, and his eyes and hearing cleared. He stood up, as if something was compelling him to stand up, and he spoke, "Trace. On."

Eyes widened, as a golden broadsword formed out of nothingness in Kirito's free hand, a very familiar sword.

The Fragant Olive Sword.

Alice instantly drew her own sword, and she stared at the one in Kirito's hands, comparing the two swords.

They were identical.

Back to the fight, Kirito stared at the golden sword in awe. He didn't know how, but he knew what the sword was. The history, the way it worked, they way Alice used it, and more importantly, how he could use it.

Kirito then heard the very familiar voice in his head, "Now show him what we're made of."

Kirito nodded, and instinctively, he raised the Fragrant Olive Sword, "System Call: Enhance Armament!"

Instantly, the bronze blade burst into over a thousand petals, to the shock over many knights watching the duel.

That included Eldrie.

For a brief moment, the purple knight was in shock that Kirito was using his dear mentor's sword, and that shock quickly morphed into anger.

But it was too late, as Kirito swung the hilt of the sword, commanding all thousand petals to charge at the purple haired knight.

The effect was instantaneous, as numerous cuts appeared on the man's armor and every exposed parts if his skin.

Soon, the petals left the man, reforming the blade at the hilt in Kirito's hands, and Eldrie fell to his knees, the Frost Scale Whip reverting to its sealed state.

Kirito walked forward, and he leveled his sword at Eldrie's throat, "Do you yield?"

The knight stared at Kirito, he couldn't even move so much of a finger, it was his loss. Eldrie let out a sigh, and he nodded, "Yes, I yield."

Kirito nodded, before he sheathed his sword and extended a hand to the kneeling knight.

The purple knight blinked at him in confusion, before he chuckled, and grabbed Kirito's extended hand, pulling himself up.

Bercouli walked over to them, "My, you never cease to surprise me, Kirito."

Kirito and Eldrie turned, to see the knights walking to them.

Kirito nodded to his master, "Bercouli-sensei."

The first knight chuckled, "That was a great match."

He then glanced at Eldrie, "But Eldrie, we're gonna have some words later, got it?"

Eldrie nodded, knowing what he did was despicable.

Gilgamesh then spoke up, "But the question is, Kirito, where did you learn to do that?"

Kirito blinked, "Eh?"

The third Knight folded his arms, "For as long as I've lived, I have only known two people, who could Project swords to that degree. One is not here anymore."

Gilgamesh pointed at a knight with white hair and tan skin, wearing a very sleek, red and black version of the Integrity Knight armor, "The only other living person who can use that, is that faker over there, but it's only because he has a massive fetish for blades. And I'm sure as hell that he can't teach that to anyone."

The white haired man grew a tick mark, "Oi!"

Chuckles sounded through the hall, before Bercouli nodded in agreement, "True. Normal Projection wouldn't have such detail, hell, you shouldn't even be able to use its Full Armament Control Arts at all."

The white haired knight nodded as he studied the Fragant Olive Sword in Kirito's hand, "Yeah, and your copy is near identical, I'd say its better than mine."

Fanatio's eyes widened, and she looked at Bercouli, "Then you might be right about him."

Bercouli nodded, "Maybe, but we still need time to confirm."

Kirito was about to ask what, but before he could, he was cut off by a voice, "Bercouli, bring Kirito to the library."

Everyone turned to see a spider hanging down from the ceiling.

Artoria raised an eyebrow, "Charlotte?"

The spider seemed to regard the Knight for a moment, before she turned to Bercouli, "Bring Kirito to the library, Lady Cardinal wishes to speak to him."

Bercouli raised an eyebrow, "Its been ages since Lady Cardinal contacted us, why now?"

Charlotte, the spider, seemed apologetic, as she spoke, "Because there was no need, but things have changed."

Bercouli sighed, "Alright."

The knight commander turned to the other knights, "Okay, Fanatio, Gilgamesh, Alice, Artoria, Emiya, follow me. The others go back to whatever you were doing."

Bercouli looked at Eugeo, "You follow us too."

Eugeo nodded, before Kirito asked, "Wait, Cardinal? As in the goddess of wisdom, that Cardinal?!"

Fanatio looked at him and nodded, "Yes, the four gods, Cardinal, Quinella, Kazuto and Vector are real, the rest are just made up by the church."

Alice nodded as she continued, "But ever since Kazuto vanished, Cardinal has not revealed herself, and only Lady Quinella has maintained contact with us."

Artoria nodded, "But for the past few years, even she has closed herself off from us, only the Prime Senator, Chudelkin, has contact with her, or so he claims."

Charlotte nodded, "Yes, that's actually why we need you to come. It pertains the young man over there."

Bercouli sighed, "Alright, lead the way."

As the other knights left the area, Charlotte lead the eight to a secluded corner of the floor.

Then, a door suddenly appeared. Eugeo gaped, "Woah, what the?"

Charlotte turned to the Kirito and Eugeo, "This is an entrance to the Great Library, now come."

Bercouli, Fanatio, Artoria, Emiya and Gilgamesh shared a glance, before they walked into the entrance.

And as soon as they did, the six Integrity Knights' eyes widened as they felt a very familiar presence.

Then, a voice reached their ears, "We've been waiting for you, Kirito."

The eight of them walked further in, and they were met with two people. One was a short and petite woman wearing glasses and a scholar's outfit, a staff in her hand.

The other was an old woman, with silver hair, wearing a white dress.

Yet, there was no mistake. The Integrity Knights easily recognised who they were.

Bercouli's eyes widened, "L-lady Quinella?! H-how?"

Quinella smiled tiredly, "It has been some time, and things have happened."

Emiya asked, "But how are you here? Why are you so..."

Quinella finished the question, "Old?"

The woman smiled wryly, "Its because of Chudelkin."

The knights' eyes widened, as Artoria asked, "What do you mean?"

Quinella didn't answer, instead, the answer came from Cardinal, "I'm pretty sure you know how Quinella's avatar is closed off for the past few years, and Prime Senator Chudelkin has been acting as the so-called messenger, yes?"

The knights nodded, and Quinella spoke, "As I am connected directly to my avatar, it is possible to interfere with me through the avatar. And unfortunately, I got careless."

Kirito asked, speaking up, "Careless?"

Quinella looked at the man with a hint of longingness, and she nodded, "Yes. Years ago, he approached my avatar, and managed to seal her, effectively cutting me off from it, and also taking away a majority of my powers."

The Knights all were angered at that revelation.

Bercouli then asked, "But, why did you not tell us in the beginning?"

Quinella smiled dryly, "I didn't know if Chudelkin had sealed any of you, or done anything to put you against me."

The silver haired goddess paused, before she continued, "Besides, it took me a full six months to actually contact Cardinal, I had lost that much of my powers, and we weren't sure what Chudelkin had done to prepare against us."

Emiya tch'd, "That bastard."

The other knights shared that sentiment, anger evident in their eyes.

Cardinal smiled in amusement at the knights' obvious sense of loyalty to her sister, and she spoke, "Worry not, it is actually quite simple to reclaim my sister's powers. But more importantly for now, Kirito, its time you knew."

The man perked up, looking at the short goddess, "Yes?"

Cardinal nodded, "You are the reincarnation of the god of blades, Kazuto."

The revelation drew mixed reactions from the knights. Bercouli chuckled silently, "I knew it."

Fanatio stayed silent, not knowing what to say.

Artoria nodded to herself, but stayed silent, similar to how Fanatio was.

Gilgamesh and Emiya both half-expected it, and they nodded, accepting the fact easily.

As for Alice, she just stared at her childhoos friend in shock, something shared by Eugeo.

Kirito, himself, was also surprised, but he refocused himself and asked, "W-what? How?"

Cardinal smiled, something shared by Quinella, and she explained, "I'm sure you all know of the war between Kazuto and Vector."

The eight of them nodded. Bercouli, Fanatio, Gilgamesh, Artoria and Emiya had all fought in that war. As for Alice, Kirito and Eugeo, they had heard of it from the legends.

Quinella nodded, continuing, "As you know, our brothers ended the war with a draw. Vector returned to the Dark Territory, and we've not heard from him ever since, but we suspect he's biding his time, to attack the Human Empires again."

That alarmed the knights, but they kept quiet, as Quinella continued, "As for Kazuto, he... split into two parts."

Kirito knew where this was going, and he finished Quinella's sentence, "Soul and body."

Cardinal nodded, "Yes, his body was sealed in one of the mountains at the border between the Human Empire and Dark Territory, but we managed to recover it a few years after the war."

The two goddesses paused a short moment and Alice looked at Kirito, "And the soul..."

Quinella nodded, "The soul, initially, was not found, but eighteen years ago, we felt his soul again."

The silver haired goddess looked at Kirito, "That is you, Kirito."

The man looked at the floor, taking in the information.

Then, Gilgamesh asked, "But, why take so long?"

The two sisters looked at each, and Cardinal answered, "We don't know. Maybe the fight took more than we thought from him, but its all just theories."

Alice then asked, "Why choose to reveal this now?"

Quinella regarded the young knight, and she answered, "Because we couldn't. We have tried contacting him, when he was a child, but we couldn't reach him because he was too weak."

Kirito's eyes widened, and he quickly asked, "Then, you were the ones who sent me those visions?"

Quinella and Cardinal shared a glance, before the latter asked, "Visions?"

Eugeo caught what Kirito was asking, but the others were curious, as Kirito nodded, "Four girls, one with short brown hair, another with blonde hair in twin tails, one with short black hair and another girl with long auburn hair."

The two goddesses looked at each other for a moment, before they shook their heads.

Quinella spoke, seeing the disappointed face of their brother's reincarnation, "That might be from your memories as Kazuto."

Cardinal nodded, "And that leads us to the second point."

The eight of them watched curiously, as Cardinal flicked her wrist, bringing out a glowing silhouette in the air.

Kirito felt a tug in his gut, a familiar feeling as he stared at the silhouette, and he realized what he was looking at. The young man stared at Quinella and Cardinal, "Is that?"

The two nodded, Cardinal answered, "Yes, that is your body."

Alice then asked, "But why is it transparent?"

The answer came from Gilgamesh, "Because the body lacks a soul. The soul is what defines a being, be it a god, human, orc or goblin. Without the soul, you'll essentially be an empty husk."

Cardinal nodded, "Indeed."

She then looked ar Kirito, gesturing to the floating silhouette, "Try touching it, it may complete you."

Kirito nodded, and he placed a hand on the floating body.

For a brief moment, the body glowed, but after that, the glow faded as if nothing had changed.

Kirito frowned, he did feel stronger, as if more parts of himself he didn't know were missing, were back. But now that he realized it, it didn't feel complete.

Eugeo asked, "Nothing happened?"

Seeing the confused look on his student, Bercouli answered, "Most likely, Kirito is not strong enough yet. The body doesn't recognise him."

Emiya nodded, "But it reacted to him, so that means Kirito just needs to get stronger."

Fanatio nodded, "A sound theory."

Cardinal nodded, and she looked at the clock, before she spoke, "I suppose that is fine for today. We can continue discussing matters tomorrow."

Kirito, Eugeo and Alice nodded, but Bercouli spoke up, "What about Chudelkin?"

Quinella smiled, "Take it easy. I doubt he will do anything drastic."

Gilgamesh frowned, "But knowing that mongrel, who knows what he's beeen doing to your avatar?"

The silver haired goddess smiled, "I can always create a new one."

Quinella then turned serious, "But do make sure to inform all the other knights, and make sure to check if any of them are in leagues with him."

Cardinal nodded in agreement, "We'll discuss how to reclaim my sister's power tomorrow, among other stuff. So go get some rest."

Bercouli nodded, "Very well."

He turned to the others, "Go get some rest. Young lady, I trust you can show Kirito and Eugeo their rooms?"

Alice smiled and nodded, "Of course, Ojii-sama."

She then turned to Kirito and Eugeo, "Okay, let's go, I'll show you your rooms."

The two brothers nodded, but before they could, Gilgamesh stopped them.

Alice blinked, "Is there anything you want, Gilgamesh?"

The third knight nodded, staring at Kirito, his gaze holding a tad bit more respect than before, "Kid, meet me at the training grounds tomorrow, I want to see how good you are with that projection of yours."

Kirito nodded, as Emiya piped in, "Count me in as well."

Gilgamesh smirked, "Heh, of course, you faker with a sword fetish."

The tanned skin man glared at the blonde, "I. Do. Not. Have. A. Fetish. For. Swords."

Gilgamesh just laughed as he walked away, "Sure sure."

As the blonde knight walked away, Emiya turned to Kirito and Eugeo, "Do not believe what he says!"

With that said, the tanned skin man stormed away.

Alice giggled, "Well, don't mind them. Come on, I'll show you your rooms."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, following their childhood friend to the knights' rooms.

And soon, the three of them reached two doors, both facing opposite of each other.

Alice smiled as she pointed at the two rooms, "Alright, Kirito, Eugeo, these will be your rooms. I'll let you two choose between which one you want."

She then walked to the room beside them, "This is my room, so if there's anything you need, just knock, okay?"

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, as Alice went inside her room, leaving Kirito and Eugeo to sort out which room they wanted.

Kirito pointed to the room beside Alice's, "So, I take this one, you take that one?"

Eugeo nodded and walked to his room, "Okay."

Kirito chuckled, "Reminds me when we first went to Centoria again."

The blonde smiled, "Kinda...

Eugeo then nodded, entering his room, "Well, I'll see you later."

The black haired man smirked at his brother, "Yeah, sure."

Kirito closed the door behind him, examining his room.

The man looked around, and it was a tad bit smaller than the apartment back in Centoria, which, for one person was pretty damn big.

Kirito let out a breath as he slumped onto his bed, 'I guess I'll take a nap then.'

The man laid his hands on the back of his head, appreciating how soft thd bed and pillows were, before he slowly drifted to sleep.

Then, all of a sudden, Kirito felt the bed vanish, and his eyes snapped open.

Kirito stood up, looking around, and he realized he was standing between the Human Empire and the Dark Territory.

The man thought aloud, "What the hell?"

Then, before Kirito could ponder further, a very familiar voice tore him from his thoughts, "We finally meet."

Kirito turned, and his eyes widened as he saw a knight walking up to him.

The Knight wore a modified version of the Integrity Knight armor, one that he had seen when he was a child. (Zero armor from Garo series, only with a cape and without the helmet)

One he had seen in a church, as a statue.

But the most important thing, was that he was looking at his own face.

The knight grinned, "Yo, me."

XXX

Done. So, that's the chapter. The next chapter will be some build up and preparation.

And as you all should realise by now, the story from here on is different from canon, with a bit similarities here and there. So yeah.

And here is the list of the current Integrity Knights I have in my story, and note, Kirito and Eugeo are not included yet.

1\. Bercouli Synthesis One.

2\. Fanatio Synthesis Two

3\. Gilgamesh Synthesis Three

4\. Artoria Synthesis Four

5\. Lancelot Synthesis Five

6\. Gawain Synthesis Six

7\. Deusolbert Synthesis Seven

8\. Mordred Synthesis Eight

9\. Emiya Synthesis Nine

10\. Siegfried Synthesis Ten

11\. Medusa Synthesis Eleven

12\. Scheta Synthesis Twelve

13\. Nero Synthesis Thirteen

14\. Jeanne Synthesis Fourteen

15\. Cu Chu Lain Synthesis Fifteen

16\. -

17\. Giyuu Synthesis Seventeen

18\. -

19\. Tsuyuri Synthesis Nineteen

20\. Tanjiro Synthesis Twenty

21\. Zenitsu Synthesis Twenty One

22\. Dakira Synthesis Twenty Two

23\. Jeis Synthesis Twenty Three

24\. Giro Synthesis Twenty Four

25\. -

26\. Hobren Synthesis Twenty Six

27\. Renry Synthesis Twenty Seven

28\. Linel Synthesis Twenty Eight

29\. Fizel Synthesis Twenty Nine

30\. Alice Synthesis Thirty

31\. Eldrie Synthesis Thirty One

As you may have noticed, most of the knights I added are from the Fate series, with a few from Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Currently there are three spots left. So I will either leave them empty by leaving them dead, or, if you guys want, suggest potential candidates for the remaining three spots.

So yeah, that's it for this chapter. Review please, and see y'all next time.


	69. Chapter 69

Hey guys, here is the 69th chapter. Finally we're here, can't believe we reached so far.

So, just to clear things up, Artoria here is more of a mix of both Saber and Lancer versions, leaning more to the Saber version. She _can_ use her spear, but will focus more on her sword.

Another thing, given that the specifics of the Central Cathedral are not known, more specifically the 51st to 79th floors, apart from the fact that the elevator is on the 50th floor to the 80th floor, I've decided that the 51st to 79th floors will mostly be the Integrity Knights' living quarters.

To **Crazy9087,** yes, I know. I read the LNs but in chinese, so forgive me if the spelling of the names are different. But, Deusolbert, Scheta/Sheyta, Renly/Renri are all here.

 **Saifani Tri** , I did consider them, but I know too little about them to effectively flesh them out here. I could improvise though, but we'll see.

 **Chrisplayz** , I did have time for the previous chapter, and the ideas were coming out very nicely, so I finished it earlier than expected. As for Gilgamesh, he's actually one of my fav characters in the Fate series, when he was in Fate/Zero and FGO ofc.

 **DaManWOFear** , thank you, I wanted to change things up a bit. And yes, I just couldn't resist bringing in the 'Saber knockoff' thing haha. As stated above, the Artoria here will be more of a mix of Lancer and Saber Artoria. She can use both her weapons, but Excalibur will still be her primary weapon.

As for Edith, sadly I have not played the mobile game too much to understand her character. I might bring her in later, with the pretense that she was in the Dark Territory as a scout, but I don't know yet.

For Quinella and Chudelkin, well, she is not evil here because there is balance in powers, with the four gods. And yes, Chudelkin is pretty much the villain here, and as in canon, Chudelkin is also the upholder of the Taboo Index here, but with more twisted intentions.

For Kirito, well, just read on haha.

To **Guest** questioner, thanks, and yes, there will be more action for the Heroic Spirits in the later fight oriented chapters.

To **NeonGamer973** , sadly, I don't believe I will have Artoria and Emiya as a couple, because their history in this story is different than the original FATE series.

And no, Kayaba's place as an active role in this story is just about finished. He won't be an Integrity Knight, or a former one. He was just a former student of Bercouli, nothing more, nothing less.

To **Saint Saber Fang** , I don't think I will, he was on my list, but I figured he was just too common, probably because he is very well known to me. But his skills certainly do fit the Integrity Knights, well, pre-Quincy war anyway.

So yeah, that clears the reviews up. Thank you for your reviews.

Here is the new chapter.

XXX

Kirito stared in shock at his own face, who just grinned at him.

Kirito said, barely recovered from his shock, "Y-you're... me?"

The knight grinned, "Yep. Well, more specifically, I am your incarnation as Kazuto, god of swords."

Kirito's eyes widened again, "How are you here? Wait, where are we?"

Kazuto grinned, before he gestured to the whole area, "This."

He looked back at his newer self, "Is our inner world."

Kazuto lowered his arms, pausing to let his younger self digest the information, before he continued, "You see, as Quinella and Cardinal have already told you, I separated us into two parts, soul and body."

Kazuto then pointed to himself and Kirito, "You and I, are parts of one soul."

Kirito furrowed his brows, "Wait, so, that means we are not complete?"

Kazuto grinned, "Bingo."

The god of swords then sighed, "Unfortunately, that also means we cannot become one yet. That's why our body didn't merge with us."

Kirito nodded, "So, to do that, we'd need all of our parts?"

Kazuto nodded, "Fortunately, we are only missing one part, the third part of our soul."

He then sighed, "But unfortunately, that part is not ready to manifest itself yet."

Kirito frowned, "Then, what do we do?"

Kazuto shook his head, "Nothing."

The younger version of the god blinked, "What?"

Kazuto chuckled, turning to look at the forests, "It is not time yet. The time will come, just not now."

Kirito nodded, "I see..."

Then, Kirito asked, "By the way, I want to ask you-"

Kazuto cut him off, "About the visions of the four girls you keep seeing?"

Kirito nodded, and his older self shook his head, "Unfortunately, it's not my place to tell you."

Kazuto looked up at the sky, "But this much I can tell you. Those four girls are very important to the third part of our soul."

Kirito blinked, before he smiled nodding, "I see. Then I guess I won't pry further."

Kazuto chuckled, "You'll know anyway, when we become one again."

Kirito nodded.

Kazuto then spoke, "By the way, I see you'll be meeting with Gilgamesh and Emiya to see how good you can project weapons."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, why?"

Kazuto grinned, "Nothing, it's just that I taught Emiya how to do it. He had a very huge affinity for bladed weapons, so I taught him to project them."

The god chuckled, "And then he took it to a whole new level, creating a Reality Marble containing infinite swords."

Kirito asked, "A Reality Marble?"

Kazuto nodded, before he realized what Kirito was asking, "Ah, they don't teach you that these days, right?"

Kirito nodded, before Kazuto explained, "A Reality Marble is sort of a man-made world. It's basically the act of temporarily placing a different world upon our reality."

Kirito blinked, "You can do that?"

Kazuto chuckled, "With the right commands, anything is possible."

He let out a breath, "Anyways, I'm not sure if you can do it, but I recreated that Reality Marble, and our third self, could do it as well."

Kirito's eyes widened, "Really?"

Kazuto smiled, "Yep. Well, he won't appear any time soon, so don't worry too much about that. He'll come out when he needs to."

Kirito nodded, before Kazuto continued, "Anyways, back to your training with them. Tell them they don't need to show you all of their weapons, we already have them engraved within our souls."

Kazuto nodded to himself, before he spoke, "Instead, tell Emiya to teach you how to draw on which weapon you want. Also, tell Gilgamesh to teach you how to dance."

Kirito blinked, before he nodded slowly, not liking the mischievous smile his older self was giving him.

The young man nodded, before Kazuto chuckled, "Alright, I suppose that's all for now."

He glanced at his younger self and flicked a wrist, "Get some rest, you'll need it."

Kirito was about to ask what he was talking about, but before he could, everything turned black, and he knew no more.

As Kirito vanished from the mindscape, Kazuto chuckled, looking up at the sky, "Still young, weaker than either of us, but, that's not necessarily a bad thing, right?"

Kazuto looked to a side, where an unconscious young man with the exact same face faded into view, laid on the grass.

Kazuto chuckled again, before he closed his eyes and laid on the grass as well.

(linebreak)

Several hours later, Kirito, Eugeo and Alice headed for the dining area for dinner.

As they walked into the dining area, Alice smiled, "This is the dining area, thanks to Lady Quinella, Emiya and the sacred art users, we can get just about any kind of food here."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, before a they heard a voice calling out to them, "Hey Alice, over here!"

The three turned to see eight knights sitting at a large table, three of which were female knights with blonde hair.

One of them, Mordred, if Kirito remembered correctly, grinned at them, "Over here!"

Alice smiled and nodded, before she glanced at her two best friends, "Let's go."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, following her to the table, as one of the blonde knights smiled at them, "So, these are the Commander's students. Ummu, not bad."

Eugeo glanced at Alice, and before he could ask her, the girl closed her eyes with an unreadable expression, "No, they are not my long lost sisters."

Mordred chuckled, "More like cousins."

One of the male knights, one with

ruffled black hair with burgundy tips, combed back to expose his forehead that had a red mark, smiled, "It'd be better if you left it at that. Even we don't know how exactly they're related."

Kirito and Eugeo just smiled, nodding forcefully as the third blonde girl, this one with long hair tied into a braid, not unlike Alice, smiled, "It's finally nice to meet you, my name is Jeanne Synthesis Fourteen."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded in response, the former said, "I'm-"

One of the male knights, this one with spiky blue hair smirked and cut him off, "Kirito and Eugeo, right? We know, Alice talks about you all the time. And it's hard not to know the Commander's two students, especially when one of them defeated Eldrie of all people."

Kirito and Eugeo both blinked, before chuckling sheepishly, more so for Kirito than Eugeo.

The man smirked, "Name's Cu Chulain Synthesis Fifteen, look forward to working with ya."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, as the young man with ruffled black hair spoke, "I'm Tanjiro. Tanjiro Synthesis Twenty."

Tanjiro then pointed to the girl sitting beside him, "This is Tsuyuri Synthesis Nineteen."

The girl smiled at them, silent for a moment, before she took out a coin and flipped it before she caught it.

Tsuyuri looked at the coin before she nodded, looking at Kirito and Eugeo, "Nice to meet you."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded awkwardly, the latter saying, "Nice to meet you too, I guess."

Mordred chuckled, "Don't mind that, she just doesn't speak much."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, before the last blonde female knights spoke, "I am Nero Synthesis Thirteen, the rose that blooms on the battlefield!"

Nero ended her self introduction with a flashy pose, rose petals somehow falling around her.

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded awkwardly at the introduction again, before Cu Chulain chuckled, "A roudy bunch right?"

Kirito and Eugeo both didn't know how to respond, before one of the male knights spoke, "Sadly, its how they are."

He looked at Kirito and Eugeo, "I'm Giyuu Synthesis Seventeen, pleased to make your acquaintance."

The two brothers nodded at that, before Cu Chulain nudged the only blonde male at the table, "Oi brat, introduce yourself."

The blonde rubbed the place where Cu Chulain nudged him and nodded, looking at Kirito and Eugeo shyly, "Zenitsu Synthesis Twenty One."

Mordred grinned, before she spoke, "And you know me, Mordred Synthesis Eight."

Alice smiled and spoke, "Well, I think we should go get some food first."

The eight of them nodded in understanding, before Alice lead the two young men to the counters where the food were.

Soon, the three came back to the table, Kirito and Eugeo barely recovering from the shock upon seeing the selection of food available.

Upon seeing their faces, Mordred grinned at Alice, "Surprised by the food?"

Alice smiled and shook her head in exasperation, "I doubt anywhere else would be able to match this place."

Nero grinned and nodded, "Ummu, thanks to Emiya, this is the only dining place befitting of a rose like me."

Tanjiro chuckled, "Well, I don't blame them..."

Tsuyuri just stayed silent, smiling like usual, while Zenitsu averted his gaze from the two newcomers.

Jeanne nodded, "Well, like Alice, they did hail from a village near the mountains, it wouldn't be a surprise to not have seen such a place."

Cu Chulainn smirked, "Heh, wait till they actually taste it."

Kirito blinked, "What are you guys talking about?"

The lancer smirked, "Nothing you should worry about."

Kirito just nodded, before he glanced at Eugeo, who shrugged, and they both took a bite from the food they had gotten.

One bite.

It blew them away, quite literally.

Kirito's eyes widened. He had never ever, in his whole life, consumed anything that could compare to what he had now.

Everything was cooked to perfection. From that one bite, he knew, the heat used to cook it was just right, and the food was cooked with just the perfect amount of time.

Kirito opened his mouth, and took another bite from his plate, savouring the taste of the food, before he did it again.

And before he knew it, Kirito's eyes widened as he realized his plate was empty.

The man blinked, before he looked up to see several amused faces looking at him.

Kirito turned, and saw Eugeo was the same as he was.

Alice giggled, "It's nice, isn't it?"

Eugeo opened his mouth to answer, but he closed it, before he nodded, pretty much speechless.

Cu Chulainn laughed, "See, I swear, no one! And I mean no one! Can beat Emiya when it comes to cooking."

Eugeo blinked, "E-emiya cooked these?"

Giyuu chuckled, a rare show of emotion, "Kinda, he cooks everyday, but sometimes the regular cooks take over when he needs to attend to his duties. They are good, but not as good as he is."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded dumbly, before Kirito asked, "So... Can we have seconds?"

Cu Chulainn's smirk, along with Mordred's grin and Alice's smile was all the answer they needed.

After that, Kirito and Eugeo stuffed their faces with food, something Cu Chulainn, Tanjiro and Giyuu also did.

And after they finished dinner, all of them had pretty much nothing to do, as Alice and the other eight knights didn't have any orders and were free to do as they wished, while Kirito and Eugeo had only just arrived and weren't even officially registered as Integrity Knights.

As the three childhood friends walked, Alice smiled, "I still can't believe it, that the day the three of us would be back together has finally come."

Kirito and Eugeo smiled, the latter nodded, "Yeah."

Kirito chuckled, "Though I was really surprised, that you are an Integrity Knight."

Eugeo nodded in agreement, and Alice giggled to that as she grinned, "I'm awesome like that."

Kirito chuckled, "Yeah sure."

Alice pouted at the young man, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Kirito just chuckled again, before he shook his head, "Nothing."

Alice sighed, before she asked, "So, how is my family? I never really got the chance to go back to our village."

Eugeo smiled, "Your parents are doing fine, they're managing the village quite well."

Alice smiled, "I see. And Selka?"

Kirito chuckled, "She's following in your footsteps. Last I heard, she's learning the sacred arts at the church."

The blonde girl nodded, "I see."

Alice then glanced at a clock on the wall nearby, "Well, it's getting late soon, and you have a long day tomorrow. I suppose its time we get to bed."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, and the latter smiled, "I suppose so, I'll see you guys tomorrow then."

Alice and Kirito both nodded, before the three headed for their respective rooms.

(linebreak)

The next day, Kirito, Emiya and Gilgamesh were in the training hall, with Alice, Artoria, Mordred, Jeanne and Eugeo at a side watching.

Emiya nodded, as Kirito told them what Kazuto told him, "Hmm, I see, that makes it better."

Gilgamesh had a very amused smirk on his face as he remembered what the god of blades meant by teaching the young man how to dance, "Very much, this will be fun."

Emiya ignored the older knight, not wishing to go through the ordeal again, as he focused on the young man in front of him, "Alright, I'll project a sword of my choosing, and I want you to do the same. Alright?"

Kirito nodded, "Got it."

The tanned skin man smirked, and he held out his hand, "Trace. On."

In a glow of blue, a pair of falchions, one black and one white, appeared in his hands.

Upon seeing the blades, Kirito instantly knew what the swords were.

Kanshou and Bakuya. The married blades.

As Emiya looked at him expectedly, Kirito nodded, remembering the feeling when he had created the copy of Alice's blade.

The familiar words came out from his lips, as mana flowed through his arms, "Trace. On."

Although a slightly slower speed, the exact same swords appeared in Kirito's hands, to Emiya's satisfaction.

And for the next half hour, they repeated the process, but with different swords of different classes.

From the simplest sword, to the most powerful Divine Class Objects Emiya knew of.

After dismissing the last sword, Emiya nodded in satisfaction, "Good, that's enough, all you need is to practice, and you'll be able to trace the swords as fast as I can. And knowing your... heritage, you can go faster."

Kirito nodded, "Got it."

Emiya just nodded, and Gilgamesh stepped forward, "Finally my turn eh?"

Emiya nodded and stepped to a side, joining Alice, Artoria, Eugeo, Jeanne and Mordred.

Alice, Eugeo and Artoria both nodded to the tanned skinned man, while Jeanne regarded him neutrally, and Mordred smirked at him.

Emiya sat down, an amused and expecting smirk on his face, "Well, the next part should be fun at least, for us."

Eugeo blinked curiously, "Why?"

Alice shared the same look, something Jeanne and Mordred also had.

Artoria however knew what Emiya was talking about, and she had an amused glint in her eyes, before she spoke, "Gilgamesh is about to teach Kirito how to dance, something Lord Kazuto did to him, who in turn did the same to Emiya."

The man in red chuckled humourlessly, "It is something I will never want to experience again."

Mordred raised an eyebrow, "Just dancing?"

Jeanne nodded, "I fail to see how learning to dance is a horrible experience."

Eugeo looked at Kirito and Gilgamesh, before he asked, "You're not talking about the dances people normally do, are you?"

Emiya grinned, "Nope, you'll understand later, they're starting. And Jeanne, get ready."

Jeanne raised an eyebrow but kept silent, as Alice sighed, "I have a bad feeling about this."

The others just focused their attention back to the training area.

With Gilgamesh and Kirito, the blonde knight looked at Kirito, "Alright, before we start, I want to make some things clear."

Kirito raised an eyebrow, "Okay?"

Gilgamesh nodded, before his eyes hardened, "First, the current you does not have my respect, I may respect the past you, but the two of you are two different people, got that?"

Kirito nodded as Gilgamesh continued, "So, if you want my respect, then you're gonna have to earn it."

Kirito nodded, and maybe it was because of the memories of his past self burried within him, but for some reason, he felt more determined to earn Gilgamesh's respect.

The blonde smirked, "Alright, let's get started."

The knight raised his right hand, and with a yellow flash, Kirito felt a sting on his left cheek.

The young man blinked, touching his face, before he looked at his fingers to see blood.

Kirito then looked at Gilgamesh, and his eyes widened.

Around the blonde man, floating in midair, were a dozen blades, protruding from yellow/golden portals or sorts.

Gilgamesh's smirk widened, "This is my weapon, the Gate of Babylon."

The man stared at Kirito straight in the eye, "Try to survive for the next hour, now dodge."

Without another word, a sword shot towards at Kirito. It was only by pure instinct that the young man jumped back, as the sword struck the ground.

Then, right as Kirito landed, he was forced to jump up again to dodge an axe to the ground, before leaped to a side to dodge a spear aimed for his chest.

Kirito opened his mouth, intending to yell and ask what the blonde knight was doing, but before he could, Gilgamesh shot out another sword from his never-ending treasury.

(meanwhile)

At the sides, Emiya shuddered subconsciously as he saw Gilgamesh sending the blades at the god reincarnate.

Alice, Mordred and Jeanne were pretty much speechless at what Gilgamesh was doing, in fact, the fact that the prideful knight had an amused smirk on his face was enough to render them speechless.

As for Eugeo, he stared on, not really knowing what to say, "Ermm, he's gonna fine, right?"

Artoria just sighed in exasperation, "He'll be fine, as long as Gilgamesh doesn't go overboard."

The blonde nodded dumbly as they watched Kirito jump and leaped around to dodge the bladed projectiles.

(An hour later)

After an hour of dodging weapons of all kinds, mostly bladed, Gilgamesh let up, "Alright, that's enough for today."

By now, Kirito was panting, more than a few cuts on his body, with parts of clothes cut here and there.

The man fell to the ground with a heavy breath, "Thank the gods."

Mordred grinned as she and the others walked over, "You're a god yourself, aren't ya?"

Kirito glanced over at them, "Don't feel like one."

Artoria shook her head in exasperation and brought out her sheathed sword, before she pressed the scabbard onto Kirito's arm.

In an instant, Kirito blinked as he felt his fatigue seemingly vanish.

The young man blinked at the fourth knight in surprise who put away her sheathed sword, "What was that?"

The one that answered the question wasn't Artoria, but Emiya, "A Divine Class Object, the sheath of the holy sword Excalibur, Avalon."

Artoria nodded, "It can pretty much heal anything, but you'll still need some rest for the mind."

Kirito nodded, before Gilgamesh turned and headed to leave the area, "Go get some rest, we still have a meeting later."

Kirito nodded, something shared by the other present knights, including Eugeo, as after the meeting in the previous day, Bercouli had informed most of the knights of their current situation and Kirito's identity.

Then, as the other knights left to do whatever they needed to do, Bercouli's voice reached Kirito's ears, "So, Gilgamesh taught you to dance, huh?"

Kirito, Eugeo and Alice all turned to see Bercouli looking at them, amusement evident in his eyes.

Alice blinked, "Ojii-sama?"

The knight grinned as he walked to them, "Yo."

Eugeo asked, "Bercouli-sensei, is there anything you needed?"

The first knight chuckled, "Well, I think its time we got you suited up, no?"

Kirito and Eugeo both grinned, sharing a glance, and that was all the answer the old knight needed.

(Short linebreak)

After a short walk, the four of them were at the armory.

As Bercouli lead the two into the armory, the man spoke, "Go get yourself fitted with the armor there, we keep plenty of spares with all sizes so it shouldn't be a problem."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, and with some help from Alice, the two of them were soon clad in armor that matched their respective swords.

Kirito's armor was pitch black, with gold and silver lining, while Eugeo wore a full light blue armor with silver lining.

As the two young men adjusted their armor, Bercouli chuckled, "Now that's more like it, it fits more than I thought it would."

Alice nodded in agreement, but before they could continue, a voice reached their ears, "Well, well, what do we have here?"

The four of them turned to the entrance, where the voice was coming from.

And standing there, was a very short and fat man. Upon laying his eyes on the figure, Kirito knew he didn't like the person at all.

The man wore something akin to a clown's suit, with an altered version of a scholar's hat. His skin was pure white, as if he had put on a large amount of make up but had failed horribly.

Bercouli greeted, his face betraying none of the emotions he was feeling, "Prime Senator Chudelkin, what brings you to here?"

The short man strode into the armory, before he stopped in front of Kirito and Eugeo, "Who are these?"

Kirito and Eugeo opened their mouths, but Alice spoke up before they could speak, "They are new Integrity Knights, we just brought them a short while ago."

Chudelkin eyed the two men cautiously, before he nodded, "I see."

He then turned at Bercouli, "They wouldn't happen to be the two criminals, Kirito and Eugeo, that killed a noble, right?"

Bercouli chuckled, "Well, they have potential, so I thought it'd be a waste if they were punished just like that."

Chudelkin nodded, before decided the topic wasn't worth his time, "Hmm, well whatever, just make sure they don't violate any more of the Index."

The man strode out of the armory, not before giving a glance at Kirito and Eugeo, grinning gleefully, "Do work hard, it'd be bad if you didn't live up to Bercouli's expectations after all."

Chudelkin then left without another word, leaving the four in the armory.

As soon as the Prime Senator left, Bercouli frowned, "Disgusting as ever."

Eugeo asked, "So, he's the one we have to take down?"

Alice nodded, "Yes, the sooner the better."

Kirito nodded, "Agreed, I only met him, and I don't like him already."

Bercouli chuckled, "That's another thing we agree on."

The three younger knights nodded, before Bercouli spoke again after looking over Kirito and Eugeo, "Alright, that should be everything for your equipment. We'll get you two your dragons tomorrow, okay?"

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded before Bercouli spoke again, "Remember, we have a meeting at the library at midnight, alright?"

The three nodded, as Bercouli headed for the door, "Well, I'mma head for the baths, see y'all later."

The man walked out of the armory, leaving the three alone.

Alice then headed for the door, "Well then, I'll see you two later at dinner, alright?"

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, as the blonde girl left the armory.

The brothers looked at each other, and Eugeo asked, "So, what now?"

Kirito shrugged, "I'll probably go take a nap or something."

Eugeo chuckled, shaking his heads, "You and your lazy ass."

The black haired man grinned shamelessly, "Hey, a warrior needs his rest before a battle."

Eugeo sighed, but the smile didn't leave his face, "Sure sure... You go sleep, I guess I'll explore the place a bit."

Kirito just grinned as they left the armory, him headed for his room, while Eugeo walked in the other direction to explore the place.

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, as Alice was walking to her room, she spotted her student, and the thirtieth knight greeted, "Eldrie."

The purple haired man blinked and he visibly brightened up. It was pretty obvious he had been looking for her.

The man smiled, "Lady Alice, I've been looking for you."

Alice raised an eyebrow, a small smile tugging her lips, "What do you need?"

Eldrie smiled, "Its been a while, do you want to enjoy some wine with me at the garden later?"

The blonde girl smiled at her protégé apologetically, "Oh, sorry, but I'm having dinner with Kirito and Eugeo later, you're welcome to join us of course."

Eldrie froze for a brief second, before he quickly smiled, "Ah, never mind, enjoy yourselves then."

Alice blinked before she nodded, "Oh, sure."

Eldrie nodded, "Well, I suppose I should get going then."

The blonde nodded, as her student turned to leave the floor for his own room, before she herself headed for her room.

With Eldrie, as he walked away, the man frowned as he felt a very uncomfortable feeling grow in his chest.

Soon, the man found himself staring out of a window, overlooking Centoria.

Then, a voice pulled the man out of his thoughts, "You seem troubled, Eldrie."

The purple haired man turned his head to see a tall man with long unruly grey hair, wearing silver armor.

Eldrie let out a breath as he greeted, "Siegfried."

The famed dragon slayer walked to stand beside the younger knight, "So, care to share what's on your mind?"

Eldrie frowned, but he kept silent.

After a short moment of silence, Siegfried spoke, "It is sometimes better to talk to someone about your problems, and it is very clear that you have some."

He glanced at Eldrie, before he turned, "It's fine if you don't want to talk, of course, but be careful not to let it affect your health."

Eldrie closed his eyes, before he sighed, "I... I am confused."

Siegfried stopped, before he turned back to face the window, "How so?"

The younger knight paused, organising his thoughts, unsure how to put them in words.

Siegfried seemed to notice this, and he guessed, "Is it about your defeat at Bercouli's student?"

Eldrie shook his head, "No, not exactly."

Siegfried raised an eyebrow, "Not exactly? Then it has something to do with him?"

The purple haired knight nodded, before he took a breath, "I... Ever since they, Kirito and Eugeo, appeared, Lady Alice has been fixated on them. For the past two days, I have only seen Lady Alice alone once, and we even missed our daily sparring matches!"

Siegfried stayed silent, allowing Eldrie to continue, "I don't know if its because of Kirito being the reincarnation of Lord Kazuto... But, for Lady Alice to suddenly feel attached to them, I feel... uncomfortable about this."

Siegfried considered Eldrie's words, before he nodded, "I see. From what you've told me, I believe this doesn't have anything to do with Kirito being Lord Kazuto's reincarnation."

Eldrie glanced at Siegfried, curious by what his senior knight meant.

The dragon slayer continued, "You don't have any problems with Kirito defeating you, yes?"

Eldrie nodded, and Siegfried continued, "Your main reason for feeling uncomfortable is because Alice has been spending time with her childhood friends more than you in the past two days."

Eldrie nodded again, and Siegfried spoke, "Then, the answer is simple. You are jealous."

The purple haired man stared at his senior in disbelief, "Jealous?! Me?!"

Siegfried nodded, "Yes, I will not pretend I understand Alice's relationship with Kirito and Eugeo, but from what I have heard from Mordred, the three of them grew up in the same village."

The dragon slayer looked at Eldrie in the eye, "As for you, ever since you entered our ranks, you have been by her side, or rather, she has been by yours."

A small smile appeared on Siegfried's face, teasing by nature, "I would say Alice suddenly having two childhood friends appear would earn your jealousy."

Eldrie opened his mouth to protest, but no words came out.

Siegfried chuckled, patting Eldrie on his shoulder, "Give it some time, Alice just wants to catch up with her friends, things will return to normal, possibly even better after we take down Chudelkin."

Eldrie nodded silently, before he continued watching the streets.

The dragon slayer chuckled again, before he turned, "Well, I don't really have that much experience with stuff like this, but if you want someone to talk to, I'm always here."

Eldrie stayed silent as the man left. He had a lot to think about.

After a short while, at a corner behind the walls, a very short and round man walked away, giggling disgustingly to himself.

(linebreak)

Meanwhile, with Eugeo, the young man wandered the cathedral, until he eventually reached the 50th floor.

The blonde soon came across a young girl standing by a cylindrical contraption that extended up to the ceiling, and he realized he had seen it as he walked down the floors.

Eugeo greeted, "Hi."

The girl stared at him blankly before she noticed his armor and smiled softly, "Hello, I've never seen you here before, are you a new Integrity Knight?"

Eugeo nodded, "I suppose."

He then reached out his hand, "Ah, my name is Eugeo, what's yours?"

The girl glanced at his hand, before she smiled and shook it, "Nice to meet you, Eugeo."

She let go of his hand, before she spoke, "As for my name, I suppose you can call me Lisa."

Eugeo smiled, nodding, before he looked up at the large object behind Lisa, "So, what is this?"

Lisa followed his gaze, and she smiled softly and turned back to Eugeo, "This is the elevator, by using the aerial elements, I can bring anyone to any floor between the 50th and the 80th floors."

Eugeo oh'd, "So, that's your job here?"

Lisa nodded, "Pretty much, yes."

The blonde looked at the elevator again, before he asked, a smile forming on his face, "Can I try?"

Lisa recognised the glint in his eyes, not unlike a child who found a new toy, and the girl smiled softly, "Of course."

Lisa then went and stood on the platform, as Eugeo followed suit.

The young girl then said, "Please stay on the platform and don't jump, okay?"

Eugeo nodded, standing behind the device, as Lisa started, "System Call: Generate Aerial Element. Burst Element."

Then, as soon as the chant finished, the device was filled with green energy, and Eugeo yelped slightly as the platform suddenly rose from the ground.

The blonde marvelled as they rose from floor to floor, "Woah."

Lisa merely smiled softly as she willed the elevator to rise, before she asked, "So, which floor do you want to go to?"

Eugeo blinked, "Eh?"

Lisa glanced at him, "I can send you to any floor between the 50th and 80th floor."

The blonde nodded, before he spoke, "Then, would it be fine if you bring me to the 60th floor?"

Lisa nodded, knowing that it was where some of the rooms for the Integrity Knights were, "Got it."

The girl then folded her ring finger and pinky finger, willing the wind elements to bring them to the 60th floor.

Soon, they reached the floor, and Lisa turned her head to Eugeo, "We're here."

The blonde nodded, getting off the elevator, "Thanks, it was fun."

Lisa smiled softly and nodded, "It is my job."

Eugeo smiled, "I'll come find you next time, alright?"

The girl just smiled and nodded, "I look forward to it."

Without another word, Lisa descended to the lower levels, leaving Eugeo alone.

Then, a voice caught Eugeo's attention, "A pleasant young girl, isn't she?"

Eugeo turned, and he was met with a man with pale blonde hair, wearing a set of silver armor lined with light blue.

The young blonde blinked, if he didn't knew better, he would have sworn he was looking an older and more mature version of himself.

The man had a small smile on his face, "It's nice to meet you, Eugeo, I am Gawain Synthesis Six."

Eugeo snapped out of his thoughts and nodded, "Y-yeah, nice to meet you."

Gawain chuckled, "Though, don't let Lisa's young appearance fool you, she's at least as old as the commander."

Eugeo blinked, he blinked again, "Wait, what?"

The older knight nodded, "Lisa has been here ever since the cathedral was built, operating the elevator for her entire life."

Eugeo oh'd, not really knowing what to say.

Gawain chuckled, "Don't let it bother you too much, you'll most probably be here with us for the next eternity after all."

Eugeo nodded, realizing the fact that he would officially become an Integrity Knight, hence become immortal.

The older blonde then turned, "Well, I suppose I won't impose on you any further, I'll see you later."

Seeing as there was nothing else, Eugeo headed back to his room.

(linebreak)

Later, at midnight, Bercouli, Fanatio, Gilgamesh, Artoria, Alice, Kirito and Eugeo were in the Great Library.

Quinella and Cardinal both sat at the table, while the others stood at attention.

The two goddesses regarded Kirito for a moment, before Cardinal spoke, "Okay, let's start."

But before she could continue, Bercouli spoke up, "Excuse me, Lady Cardinal, Lady Quinella, but before that, can you officially appoint Kirito and Eugeo as Integrity Knights?"

Quinella smiled and nodded, "Of course."

The old form of the goddess looked at Kirito and Eugeo and motioned them to come forward.

The two brothers stood in front of her, and Quinella held up her palm at Kirito and Eugeo's foreheads.

After a short moment, Kirito and Eugeo both glowed for a moment, before the glow died down.

Quinella nodded in satisfaction and stood back, "Its done."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, "Thank you."

Cardinal grinned, "Well, it used to require direct access to the soul and body, making it a very long process, but now all Quinella needs is a moment."

The knights all nodded, before Cardinal spoke again, "Alright, with that out of the way, let's start."

The knights all stood at attention, and Cardinal started, "First, I believe it's better to tell you how Chudelkin took away Quinella's powers."

The knights nodded, and Quinella started, "The previous method of appointing Integrity Knights, we call it 'synthesising'. It involved direct access to the soul and body. It usually requires consent from both sides, but if you utilise the Deep Freeze, it can cause the target to be frozen, and therefore vulnerable."

The old form of the goddess sighed, "Chudelkin utilised that, and he managed to take control over my soul through my avatar."

The knights all visibly grew enraged at that point, and Quinella continued, "As soon as I realised it, I managed to cut off myself from my avatar, but by then, Chudelkin had already taken control over my avatar, and also stripped me of almost all my powers."

Bercouli frowned, "Bastard..."

He then looked at the weakened form of Quinella, "So, how do we retake your powers?"

This time, Cardinal answered, "By using this."

The small form of the goddess held up a dagger, "This is actually a modified copy of the Rule Breaker from Gilgamesh's armory."

The older knights all immediately understood what she meant.

Artoria noticed the confused looks on Kirito, Eugeo and Alice's faces, and she explained, "The Rule Breaker, it is a dagger from Gilgamesh's armory, and it can nullify all sacred arts known to man."

The three younger knights all nodded in understanding, and Kirito asked, "So, we can use that and nullify the spell?"

Cardinal nodded, "Basically yes, but since the original only nullifies the arts casted, I had to modify a copy of it so that the energy in the avatar would return to Quinella."

Gilgamesh smirked, "Then that's easy, all we need is to just stab the dagger onto Lady Quinella's avatar, and everything will be fine."

Quinella nodded, "Basically yes, but better to be safe than sorry. We should expect Chudelkin to have something ready."

The knights all nodded, before Cardinal spoke, "In fact, as far as I know, Chudelkin does have a sacred art that transform his body into a massive flaming entity."

Kirito frowned, "So how do we deal with that?"

Bercouli chuckled, "Simple. We don't let him do it."

Kirito blinked several times, "Wait what?"

Alice looked at her friend, "We have no idea what that sacred art entails, apart from that it turns him into a huge fire entity, so the best way to stop it is to prevent it from happening at all."

Kirito oh'd and nodded, "Makes sense."

Cardinal smiled, "Well, it's not much, but basically that's all we have right now."

Eugeo nodded, "So we go find Chudelkin and Lady Quinella's avatar, stab the avatar with the dagger, and we win."

Quinella nodded, "Yes, but there is no need to rush. Time is on our side."

The older knights nodded in agreement, before Cardinal spoke, "I suppose that should be it for now."

The aspect of wisdom stood up, "We'll see you all tomorrow to further discuss the matter, and after that, we'll take down Chudelkin."

XXX

DONE. So this is more of a build up for the next chapter, which will be confronting Chudelkin.

After that, will be Vector's appearance, and we'll soon be seeing the Elemental Nations again.

So yeah, that's all for this chapter. Review please. I'll see y'all next time.


	70. Chapter 70

Hello guys! Happy NEW YEAR! Damn I still can't believe its 2020 already.

I was actually hoping to pull off a chapter on new year's eve, but some shit came up and I couldn't finish it in time.

Anyways, **NeonGaner973** , thank you for your review, but what do you mean by the previous chapter 'actually being in to the story like any LN'? I'm a bit confused what you meant.

About Asuna and the other girls, don't worry, they, along with the people of the Elemental Nations will appear soon. If I am right, they will appear within the next three to four chapters.

To the **Guest** , in the Underworld? No. But they will come back within the next few chapters.

 **NinjaFang1331** , thank you, I hope you like this chapter and the following ones as well.

 **Chrisplayz** , yes the Integrity Knights, along with all the people from the Elemental Nations do seem to outclass all the antagonists revealed so far. I will try to balance it out, but I'm not sure how it will go as of now.

To **SaintSaberFang** , I don't have a friend who makes reading fanfictions. I personally don't like reading them much, but if you do know anyone who can do it, then I'm open to the idea of having someone do one. Just get them to PM me before they write one of course.

To **DaManWOFear** , yes, for now Kirito's soul will be split, a bit similar to how Hakuno was in Fate Extella The Umbral Star.

About the Synthesis Ritual, since I changed Quinella's character here, I didn't want to use the original one. So instead, I opted to make it similar to a blessing, like how Artemis blesses her hunters.

As for Quinella herself, well, just to clear things up there is the real one and the avatar one. They both originally have the same appearance, however, because Chudelkin ripped her powers away from her soul, it caused Quinella to age tremendously, while the avatar retained her young appearance.

When they get Quinella's powers back, she will pretty much look the same as the Administrator form. Without the nakedness of course.

As for Eldrie, he has a family, yes. But as far as I know he isn't married or engaged or anything. I'm not planning to expand much on his character history as of now, but I will make it where he visits his parents from time to time, but not too frequently.

As for Vector and the Dark Territory, well, they will appear at the end of the current arc, but nothing more until I bring in the Elemental Nations **.**

So yeah, that settles it for the replies to the reviewers. I thank you all for your reviews, if you do have any suggestions, do tell me.

And for the three missing slots for the Integrity Knights. I thought long and hard about it, and I think I cannot handle that many characters being in the story as of now, so I will leave them empty, being that they died in duty.

I believe the reason Reki left most of the Integrity Knights unrevealed was also because he didn't want to have that many characters in the already crowded story. But well, we don't really know anyways haha.

So yeah, here's the next chapter, enjoy.

XXX

Back in the Sword Mastery Academy, a week had passed since Kirito and Eugeo were taken away.

News of Raios and Humbert's deaths had spread like wildfire, and while not many knew the truth, not many cared and figured the two nobles had it coming.

After all, it wasn't a secret that the two nobles were just plain assholes, especially when it came to Kirito and Eugeo, and it wasn't like their absence affected them much.

As for Ronye and Tiese, Azurica had offered to have them become the Valets of the two new seats of the Elite Swordsman-in-Training. But the two girls just didn't see the point in doing that anymore.

Now, Ronye and Tiese had just finished cleaning the dorms, as normal students were required to do so, and were heading out for a short break.

As the two girls walked along the streets, they spotted three people on the streets.

They didn't recognise the man or the shorter brunette, but they certainly recognised the former second seat of last year's Twelve Elite Swordsman-in-Training.

Ronye blinked, "You're, Sortiliena Serlut."

Tiese also blinked in surprise at seeing the woman.

The woman blinked, "You are?"

Ronye and Tiese both nodded, the former spoke, "I'm Ronye Arabel, I used to be Kirito-senpai's Valet, and she's Tiese Shtolienen."

Tiese nodded, "I used to be Eugeo-senpai's Valet."

Gorgolosso's eyes widened, "Used to..."

Liena's face fell, "So... it's true."

Ran stared worriedly at Liena, "Liena..."

The taller brunette let out a breath, "Let's talk somewhere else."

(linebreak)

A short while later, the five of them were at a park.

After a short moment of silence, Gorgolosso spoke up, "So, can you tell us what happened?"

Ronye and Tiese shared a glance, before the former nodded, "Do you remember Raios and Humbert?"

The three older swordsmen shook their heads, and Liena spoke, "I'm sorry, but no."

Ronye nodded, "It's fine. Anyway, Raios and Humbert were two students who didn't like Kirito-senpai and Eugeo-senpai at all."

Tiese nodded, "They tried to harass them many times, though Kirito-senpai and Eugeo-senpai just ignored them."

Ran raised an eyebrow, "Then why would Kirito and Eugeo kill them?"

Ronye and Tiese's faces dropped, and Ronye answered, "Because of us... Raios and Humbert wanted to get at Kirito-senpai and Eugeo-senpai, and because of our carelessness, we were forced to accept sexual punishment."

Gorgolosso nodded, understand where this was going, "So Kirito and Eugeo killed them to save you."

The two younger students nodded. Ronye looked up at the three graduates, particularly at Liena, "I'm sorry, its our fault..."

Liena looked at the girl in the eye, and she knew the look in Ronye's eyes. The girl was blaming herself for Kirito and Eugeo being sent to the cathedral.

The woman shook her head, smiling kindly, "Don't blame yourselves, I'm sure Kirito and Eugeo have both told you that too, right?"

Ronye and Tiese both nodded slowly. Liena nodded, "So, can you tell us how they were doing throughout the year?"

Ronye and Tiese both looked at the older woman, and they nodded.

(linebreak)

After a while of reminiscing about Eugeo and Kirito, Liena and Ronye were alone at a more secluded area of tthe park.

As they walked, Ronye asked, "So, Miss Serlut, what did you want to talk about?"

Liena smiled, "No need to be so formal, we're friends now, call me Liena."

Ronye blinked several times, before she smiled and nodded, "Alright, Liena."

Sortiliena smiled in response, and after a short moment, the woman asked, "You like Kirito, don't you?"

Ronye almost froze at that question, before she recovered herself and asked with a smile, "What are you talking about?"

Liena looked at Ronye in the face, and she instantly saw through the fake smile.

The woman sighed, and she stopped walking, "You don't need to hide it."

Ronye clenched her fists, "Why does it matter? Kirito-senpai isn't coming back anyway."

Liena smiled softly, "He will, Kirito isn't the type of person to let himself get killed like that. In fact, he might very well just go live in the Dark Territory."

Ronye's eyes widened, now she thought about it, that was something Kirito would probably do.

Liena continued, "That's why, I'll become an actual knight, and I'll go into the Dark Territory to look for him."

Ronye's eyes widened again. She could tell Liena wasn't lying, so that'd mean that she was being serious about it.

The girl stayed silent, no words coming out.

Sortiliena faced the younger girl, "I hope your feelings for Kirito are real, because I acknowledge you as my rival."

Ronye stared at the older woman, dumbfounded by her declaration, "W-what are you saying?"

Liena grinned, "It's your choice, but one way or another, I'm seeing Kirito again, even if I have to drag him out of the Cathedral myself."

The short haired girl clenched her fist, before she took a shaky breath, "I also want to see Kirito-senpai again."

Ronye held her head up, staring at Liena straight in the eye, her eyes burning with determination, "And I won't lose."

The older woman grinned, "May the best woman win."

The two women nodded, before they headed back to join the others.

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, back at the Central Cathedral, after telling the knights how to retake Quinella's powers and deciding to confront Chudelkin after two weeks, Cardinal decided it would be for the best to develop Kirito and Eugeo's Armament Full Control Arts.

Now, Kirito and Eugeo were at the dining area, working on the full chant for their Armament Full Control Arts, with Alice assisting them.

As the two new knights worked on the chants, Kirito sighed, "This is hard..."

Eugeo chuckled, "Well, it is our first time developing a chant, especially something as sophisticated as this."

Alice frowned, "Stop complaining and continue, we're getting there. And Kirito, you're almost done, Eugeo is still only half way done."

The knight in black sighed again, writing down the next set of chants.

Eugeo just chuckled, shaking his head at his brother's laziness as he also continued to write down the chant needed for his sword.

Then, Alice spotted three female knights walking to them. The tallest one was a woman with violet hair, wearing a sleek armor that was obviously designed for speed. The woman also had an eye cover.

At her waist was a standard sword, along with two slightly longer-than-usual daggers connected to chains.

The other two were considerably shorter than the taller woman. They both had pale light brown hair, although one of them had short neck length hair, while the other had hers tied into two braids.

They both wore a modified version of the church's uniform, along with a chest plate.

The two of them also each had a dagger strapped at their waists.

Alice greeted, "Medusa, Linel, Fizel."

The purplenette smiled, "Hello Alice."

The twin knights beamed in unison at the girl in golden armor, "Alice-neesan!"

Fizel then glanced at Kirito and Eugeo, "So these are the new recruits? They don't look much."

Linel also looked at them with interest, particularly Kirito, "He defeated Eldrie in a duel too, right?"

Kirito sweatdropped as Linel and Fizel were soon engrossed in a discussion about himself and Eugeo.

Medusa smiled, "Please ignore them, they may have been knights for a few years now, but they still have yet to learn much about manners."

Eugeo chuckled, "It's fine."

The tall woman nodded, before she spoke again, "I'm Medusa Synthesis Eleven."

Eugeo opened his mouth to introduce himself, but Medusa cut him off, "I know who you are, Eugeo, and it's good to finally see you again, Lord Kazuto."

Kirito chuckled awkwardly, "Ermm, I'm sorry, but I don't really remember much about my previous life yet."

Alice then asked, "Aren't we supposed to keep things on a low profile, in case, you know?"

Medusa nodded, "I suppose so."

Then, Fizel piped in, their discussion seemingly over, "So, what'cha doin?"

Eugeo smiled at the two short girls, "We're working on our chants for pur Armament Full Control Arts."

That seemed to pique Linel's interest, "Really? Can I see?"

Eugeo blinked, before he nodded, "Sure."

He passed the paper over to Linel, who looked through the chant he had written so far.

Alice smiled, "Linel is studying the sacred arts too, right?"

The girl nodded as she passed the paper back to the blonde, "Yep, and that chant is half done, around 15 to 20 words left."

Alice smiled, "How about you help me help them work on it?"

Linel nodded with a smile, while Fizel huffed, but a small smile on her face, "Hmph, well, I suppose I could give our juniors some help."

Medusa also smiled at their response, before they sat down and helped the two newer knights develop their Full Armament Control Arts.

(linebreak)

After fully developing the chant, it had taken Kirito a whole day to fully activate his Armament Full Control Arts, and another half day for Eugeo to activate his.

Now, Kirito and Eugeo were outside a large room with Fanatio, on the 40th floor.

The second knight spoke, "This is where our dragons live. Well, of course, some of them prefer to live outside the cathedral on their own, only answering our calls when we need them, so we usually let them choose. But most of them still live here."

The two younger knights nodded, as Fanatio continued, "Anyways, some of them bred here, so there are many other dragons with no partners and dragon puppies living on this floor."

Kirito nodded, "So, we just choose whichever dragon we want?"

Eugeo sweatdropped, "I don't think it works that way."

Fanatio chuckled, "Well, you don't actually choose them. They choose you."

Kirito oh'd as Fanatio pushed open the door, revealing a large area with lush grass and huge trees with large nests.

But the most important thing about the place were the dragons within the area.

There were at least four dozen dragons, and that wasn't including the dragon puppies. Many of them had saddles on their backs, but there were also dragons who didn't.

Fanatio glanced at Kirito and Eugeo, "Go on, look around, if a dragon finds you worthy, they'll come to you. Of course, they can be a puppy, like how Alice got hers."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, and they walked further into the den.

As they did, most of the dragons looked at them, but most of them quickly ignored them, save a few non-saddled dragons.

As Kirito walked, he felt several gazes on him, no doubt from the dragons around him.

Then, a grey dragon the size of a horse landed in front of him, grunting as it did, and Kirito stopped walking, looking at the dragon.

The dragon regarded him for a moment, and Kirito stared back at it.

After a moment, Kirito hesitantly raised his hand in an attempt to touch the dragon, but as soon as he did, it grunted softly and flew away back to its nest.

The young man turned to look at Fanatio, who smiled, shaking her head, "Try again."

Kirito nodded, and he walked further down the den. He took note of Eugeo's smile as he was surrounded by dragon puppies, and he let a small smile appear on his face. At least his brother was having fun.

The young man continued to walk, until he came face to face with a large black dragon, slightly larger than the first one he had faced, slightly larger than the size of a rhino.

The large dragon looked similar to the other dragons. Though, it had amber eyes that seemed to stare right into your soul.

Kirito stared back at the dragon, who glowered at him.

After a while of staring at each other, the dragon nodded, growling lowly, as it lowered its head in front of Kirito.

The young man blinked, turning to Fanatio, who smiled and nodded, motioning him to go ahead.

Kirito turned back to the dragon, and slowly placed his hand on its snout, and the dragon grunted softly.

Fanatio smiled, walking to stand beside Kirito, "His name is Kurogane, he's actually one of the younger but stronger dragons."

Kirito nodded, "Of course."

The reincarnation of the god of blades grinned as he lowered his hand, "I'll be counting on you from now on, partner."

Kurogane grunted in agreement, and if a dragon could smirk, Kirito was pretty sure his new partner was doing it.

Kirito then glanced at Eugeo's direction, who was looking at a light blue dragon, the size of a horse. The dragon nodded to Eugeo, who smiled and nodded back, before the dragon growled softly, lowering his head to the blonde.

Fanatio smiled, "Well, I guess we're done."

Eugeo walked to them, followed by his dragon, "Ermm, Fanatio, do you know his name?"

Fanatio chuckled as the blue dragon whined at Eugeo's words, "Eugeo, its a she, not a he, and her name is Aogiri."

Eugeo blinked, and looked at his new partner apologetically, "I'm sorry, Aogiri."

The dragon grunted, before nudging her new master playfully.

Eugeo chuckled, rubbing the dragon's snout softly.

Fanatio smiled, "Remember to visit them once in a while though, they can pretty much take care of themselves, so it's convenient for us, but as partners, we still need to pay attention to them."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, the former said, "Of course."

Fanatio grinned before she asked, "So, how about taking them for a ride?"

The dragons both looked at their new masters, equally amused at the excited glint that had appeared in their eyes.

Kirito and Eugeo shared a glance, and they both grinned.

(short linebreak)

A short while later, the three knights were at the landing platform, Aogiri and Kurogane both with a saddle on their backs.

Fanatio mounted her dragon, looking at Kirito and Eugeo who were doing the same, "I know the two of you have ridden on Bercouli's dragon once, but this is different, and since it's your first time, it's better to let them do the flying."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, the former grinning and patted Kurogane's neck, "I'll be counting on you, partner."

The dragon grunted, an excited glint in his eyes, blowing out smoke from its nostrils.

Eugeo grinned, and patted Aogiri's neck lightly, "I'll be counting on you too."

The blue dragon grunted in response, readying herself to take flight.

Fanatio smiled softly, something shared by her own dragon, as they witnessed the new knights and partnered dragons.

The second knight cleared her throat, "Alright, let's go."

Without another word, Fanatio's dragon launched into the air, spreading its wings.

Kirito and Eugeo grinned upon seeing the senior knight take flight.

Kirito grinned, "Alright Kurogane, let's go!"

The dragon grunted in excitement, and he too jumped off the platform, spreading his wings as he did.

Aogiri did the same, causing Eugeo to yelp in surprise as they took flight.

Soon, the three knights and dragons were cruising in the air, some distance below the clouds.

Kirito glanced down, seeing the entirety of the Human Empire, before looking all the way to the borders that lead to the Dark Territory.

Fanatio smiled and asked, "So, how does it feel? Your first flight."

Kirito grinned, not unlike a child with a new toy, "Awesome!"

Eugeo grinned, nodding as well, "This is very cool."

The two dragons grunted in response, and if dragons could smile, the knights were certain they were doing it.

Fanatio smiled, before it turned mischievous, "Kurogane, Aogiri, how about you two take your partners for a dive?"

The two dragons shared a glance, a certain glint in their eyes. Kirito and Eugeo blinked, the latter asking, "Wait, whaOAHHHH!"

Eugeo was cut off, as the dragons suddenly dived downwards, earning screams from both Kirito and Eugeo.

After approximately 30 seconds, the two dragons pulled up, spreading their wings and stopped their descent.

Kurogane snickered at Kirito's pale face, while Aogiri had an amused glint in her eyes, pretty much knowing what Eugeo's face was like.

Fanatio and her own dragon descended to their level, amusement evident in both of their eyes. The knight asked, "Was that fun?"

Kirito and Eugeo both glared at Fanatio weakly, still barely recovering from the sudden drop.

Fanatio let out a soft laugh, before they continued to soar in the skies for the rest of the evening.

(linebreak)

Days later, the Integrity Knights were finally ready to confront Chudelkin.

To be safe, it was decided only 10 knights would confront Chudelkin, as the Integrity Knights still needed to patrol the borders of the Human Empire.

Now, Kirito, Eugeo, Alice, Bercouli, Fanatio, Gilgamesh, Artoria, Giyuu, Tanjiro and Emiya were at the 95th floor, the Morning Star Lookout, more specifically, at the stairs that would lead them to the senate.

Bercouli frowned as the 10 of them stopped at the stairs, "Hmm, now that I think about it, we never really checked what the senate's been doing."

Eugeo blinked, "Wait, seriously?"

Gilgamesh huffed, "Yeah, well, it was never worth the time to check anyways."

The others just sweatdropped at that response. Kirito then asked, "But don't you see any of them? I mean, you live here."

Artoria shook her head, "No. We generally keep to ourselves on the lower floors, and since we operate independently, we don't really need to go up to the senate, apart from... Chudelkin giving us messages supposedly from Lady Quinella."

The former king of knights shuddered as she spoke the last part, something shared by the older knights.

Emiya huffed, "Well, we'll find out soon enough."

The other knights nodded. Tanjiro then spoke, "Let's go."

The knights all nodded, and they walked up the stairs.

Soon, they reached the 96th floor, and the knights were disgusted by what they saw.

On the floor, around them, were hundreds of capsules, all containing bodies. More importantly, the bodies all had blank faces, the same blank faces that Kirito, Eugeo and Alice saw when they broke the Index.

Giyuu furrowed his brows, "What... are these?"

A very high pitched and annoying voice answered the question, "These, are the senate, Giyuu Synthesis Seventeen."

Gilgamesh stared at the short man coldly, "Explain."

The prime senator smiled creepily, "It is rather simple. Decades ago, I managed to kill most of the existing senators, and then, all I had to do was replace them with a bunch of homunculi."

Chudelkin giggled, "Quinella herself didn't suspect a thing, and even if she did, it was all too late, since the deed was already done, and I had already taken away her powers."

The older knights glared at him, Bercouli growled, "Bastard..."

The short fat man blinked, before he gasped, "Oh, did I let that slip? Oh wait, you already know, so whatever."

Chudelkin smirked at the last part, earning glares from all the knights.

Gilgamesh growled, "You piece of trash."

Chudelkin giggled, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Kirito glared at the pale man, "It doesn't matter anymore, everything will end here."

The prime senator chuckled, "Ah, yes, the reincarnation of that blasted god of blades. That's where you're wrong, I've been preparing, you know?"

Fanatio narrowed her eyes, "Preparing?"

Chudelkin giggled gleefully, "Yes, I've been preparing THIS!"

The short clown raised both of his arms, "SYSTEM CALL: DEEP FREEZE! INTEGRATOR AREA 001!"

The knights eyes all widened as the clown finishef chanting, and Gilgamesh roared, "EMIYA, KIRITO!"

The two immediately raised their hands and spoke in unison, "Trace on!"

The third knight, along with Kirito, instantly pulled out a huge shield, the latter projecting it, albeit with some difficulty, and they both yelled, "System Call: Enhance Armament! Release Recollection! LORD... CAMELOT!"

Emiya narrowed his eyes as mana flowed through his right arm, and in the next instant, a purple barrier with seven layers, in the shape of a flower with seven petals, manifested in front of him," RHO AIAS! "

The three shields, all from the legends, surrounded the ten knights, just in time as Chudelkin's Deep Freeze reached the 96th floor, protecting them from the technique.

Chudelkin narrowed his eyes as the three legendary shields protected the knights, then he grinned gleefully.

Soon, the shields fell apart, but the art had already ended, and since the Deep Freeze was targeted at the Central Cathedral as a whole, it meant that the shield could stop it from freezing the people under its protection.

Artoria glared at the clown, "You froze the entire cathedral?!"

Chudelkin grinned, "Why yes. After all, freezing all of you gives me access to your souls, so what better way than to use that to take over all of you."

Alice frowned, glaring at the clown, "But you failed, its over."

Chudelkin giggled again, crossing his arms, "Bzzt! No, it's just the beginning."

The clown raised his arms, smirking as he did, and in an instant, thousands of yellow spheres of light gathered in front of him.

Then, with a bright glow, the collection of lights turned into a massive golem made of swords, slamming into the ground with a loud boom.

Tanjiro stared at the golem, eyes widened, "What the heck is this?"

Chudelkin giggled, "This is my personal sword golem."

Bercouli frowned, "Where did you find the resources to make this?"

The clown grinned creepily, "What do you think happened to all those idiots who broke the Taboo Index?"

Alice, Kirito and Eugeo's eyes widened, something shared by the other knights.

Artoria glared at the clown, "You mean all those people, all of their souls, you used them for this?!"

Chudelkin giggled, spinning as he gave the former king a thumbs up, "Bingo!"

Alice glared at him, "You'll pay for this."

The clown smiled creepily as he backed away, "If you get past this, you're welcome to try."

With that said, Chudelkin vanished in a flash.

The knights frowned at that, before Tanjiro spoke, "You guys go on ahead, I'll handle this."

Giyuu nodded as he corrected, " _We'll_ handle this."

Bercouli smirked, "Heh, very well."

Emiya chuckled, "Try not to take too long."

Tanjiro chuckled, "Sure sure..."

Fanatio smiled as she turned to the others, "Let's go."

The others quickly ran for the stairs. In response, the sword golem tried to chase after them.

But then, it stopped, as Tanjiro and Giyuu stood in front it.

Tanjiro grinned as he drew his katana, a standard looking katana with black edges, "Your fight is with us."

Giyuu nodded silently, drawing his own sword. A katana with a blue edge.

The sword golem growled in response, or rather, groaned, the swords that made up its body clashing against each other, as the sword arms extended outwards.

Tanjiro and Giyuu shared a glance, before they nodded. Then they burst into action.

The sword golem instantly swung its sword arms, but the two knights easily dodged the attacks, before leaping up onto the golem's arms.

The golem tried to swing its arms again in attempt to shake the two knights off, but Tanjiro and Giyuu leaped up before it could disorient them.

As they fell downwards, Giyuu yelled, "Tanjiro!"

The younger knight instantly understood, "Yeah!"

As they came down, the two knights took in concentrated breaths, and Tanjiro and Giyuu both spoke in complete unison, "Mizu no Kokyu: Hachi no Kata: Takitsu bo."

Water enshrined the two katana, and in a flash, the two knights sliced through the sword golem's arms cleanly, as the massive sword arms fell onto the ground.

But then, the golem groaned, and in an instant, the arms reattached to the golem before Tanjiro and Giyuu could do anything.

Giyuu tch'd, "It repaired itself."

Tanjiro nodded, frowning slightly, "It's not an easy one after all... Any ideas?"

The older knight furrowed his brows, "Maybe, not sure if it'd work though."

Tanjiro nodded, "What do you have?"

Giyuu nodded, but his eyes not leaving the golem for even a second, "Remember your version of Zenitsu's Hekireki Issen?"

Tanjiro nodded, "Yeah, what of it?"

The man gripped his katana tightly, "Can you do that repeatedly?"

Tanjiro raised an eyebrow, but nodded, "Its possible, but I won't be able to do it as quickly as Zenitsu can, and I'll probably be immobile for a short while after twenty times."

Giyuu let a small smirk appear on his face, "That's enough."

Tanjiro nodded, "Alright."

The knight then took a deep breath, and he spoke, taking a battou stance, "Hi no Kami Kagura: Enbu Issen."

With a loud boom, Tanjirou vanished, appearing behind the golem, before he vanished with another loud boom, appearing at the golem's right. Then the process repeated again, with Tanjiro appearing at the opposite direction of his previous locations.

The process repeated for twenty times, before Tanjiro crashed into the ground breathing heavily, but the deed was already done, as the golem shattered into numerous pieces.

Tanjiro yelled as he panted, "Your turn! Giyuu!"

The knight nodded, holding his katana, "System Call: Enhance Armament!"

With a dull blue glow, the katana dispersed, or rather, it dissolved into mist. Then, with a flick of his wrist, several gallons of water filled the floor.

This was Giyuu's Full Armament Control Arts. His katana was initially an experiment, using water as a base, along with augmentation using sacred arts, to forge a sword. The result was the ability to fully control water as the user pleased, and it fully complemented his usage of the Water Breathing style.

Not wasting another second, Giyuu swung his sword, commanding the gallons of water to slam into the golem, fully immersing it in the water.

Then, Giyuu narrowed his eyes, as he focused on his control over water. Then, slowly, but before the golem could fully repair itself, the metal of the golem's body started to rust.

That was another property of water, as when in contact with metal, it would cause the metal to rust.

That was what Giyuu was aiming for, as he utilised his control to accelerate the rusting process tenfold.

The golem seemed to groan, as it struggled to escape the water, but to no avail.

Tanjiro recovered his breathing, as he went to stand beside his senior, "Giyuu, what are you doing?"

Giyuu glanced at Tanjiro for a moment, before he spoke, "I'm rusting the golem. It's made of metal after all."

Tanjiro oh'd, as soon enough, the metal golem started to dissolve, as rust formed on it, before dispersing into the water from the harsh currents.

Giyuu let out a small breath, as the water within the floor evaporated and reformed his katana.

The man then looked at Tanjiro, "So, now what?"

The younger knight turned to the stairs, "You think we should go up?"

Giyuu shrugged, "I'm sure they can handle it, but let's go, just in case."

The other knight nodded, and they headed for the stairs.

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, right after Bercouli, Emiya, Fanatio, Artoria, Gilgamesh, Kirito, Eugeo and Alice reached the next floor, three sword golems appeared, staring down menacingly at them.

Bercouli raised an eyebrow, "Is he seriously gonna send sword golems at us on every floor until we reach the top?"

Artoria let out an exasperated sigh, "Probably..."

Emiya stared at the sword golems, not impressed at all, "So, now what? Wreck these things and go on, or a few of us stay back and have some fun?"

Gilgamesh huffed, "I'm bored anyways. I'll take care of them."

The other knights nodded, knowing full well that Gilgamesh wouldn't need to use even half of what he had to destroy the golems.

Kirito turned, "Alright, let's go."

As soon as they reached the stairs however, four more sword golems appeared slammed down onto the ground.

The knights stared at the golems, before Emiya yelled to Gilgamesh, "Oi Gilgamesh, you wanna take these too?"

The third knight glanced at them for a moment, having not moved a single step at all, before he huffed, "You take them, these three are enough for me, four more will make things too repetitive, too boring."

Emiya sighed, "Troublesome bastard..."

Artoria sighed exasperatedly, "Fine, I'll stay with Emiya and take them."

Bercouli nodded, "Alright, we'll head up then."

Fanatio nodded, "Got it."

The three younger knights also nodded, before they headed up the stairs.

As Emiya stared at the four golems, he asked, "You take two on the right, I take two on the left?"

Artoria nodded, "Okay."

The knight in red twisted his neck, "Its been a while since I had a good fight."

Artoria let a small smile appear on his face, "Well, the forces of the Dark Territory aren't that serious these days, so things have been relatively peaceful."

Emiya chuckled, "Pretty much, not to say its bad of course."

The former king of knights nodded, before she noticed the golems starting to move, "Here they come."

Emiya nodded, "Yeah."

The married blades, Kanshou and Bakuya instantly appeared in his hands, as Artoria drew her sword.

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, Gilgamesh stared at the three golems in front of him. The blonde barely took notice of Emiya and Artoria fighting two golems each.

The blonde stared at the golems boredly, "What, are you waiting for an invitation?"

The golems seemed to groan in annoyance, charging the king of heroes.

Gilgamesh huffed, before sending several weapons from his treasury at the golems.

The weapons clashed against the three golems, pushing them a few feet back.

Gilgamesh stared at the golems unimpressed, "Is that all?"

The golems groaned, clashing its blades against each other, before it charged Gilgamesh again.

One of the sword golems swung its sword arm at Gilgamesh, who merely stood there with his arms crossed as a spear shot out of his treasury, striking the golem and sent it flying away.

The second golem tried to attack him from the right, only to receive a hard strike to the head by a war hammer, sending it sprawling to the ground.

As for the third golem, while its brethren were attacking the knight from the front, it had tried to attack Gilgamesh from behind.

Keyword. Tried.

As soon as the golem reached the back side of Gilgamesh, it tried to stab him in the back. Unfortunately for the golem, Gilgamesh, without even moving his eyes, sent out a large broadsword from below the golem, giving it a hard uppercut.

Gilgamesh huffed as he glanced around, looking at the sword golems on the floor around him, "Hmph, if this is what that trash Chudelkin call his guards, then even Linel and Fizel won't have trouble with you."

The golems slowly got up, as Gilgamesh stood there, having not moved one step at all.

The golems charged again, swinging their sword arms at him.

Gilgamesh huffed, willing several more swords to strike the golems, sending them back again.

The king of heroes sighed, "This is worse than I expected. I'm getting tired of this."

Gilgamesh closed his eyes, contemplating if he should end it now or prolong the fight, no matter how boring it was getting.

The golems, once again, tried to stand up to him, swinging their swords at him, only to be stopped by spears and swords of all kinds.

The man opened his eyes, glaring at the golems as he spoke coldly, "To interrupt me while I'm thinking, you deserve more than a thousand deaths."

Gilgamesh stared at the downed golems coldly, before raising a single palm, as golden portals formed around the three sword golems, millions of swords, spears, axes, hammers, and just about every kind of weapon anyone could think of, protruded out of the portals.

Then, with just a flick of his wrists, millions of weapons bombarded the three sword golems.

After exactly ten seconds, Gilgamesh lowered his arm, as the infinitely firing weapons stopped, allowing the dust to clear.

As Gilgamesh expected, all that was left, was a huge crater that was already starting to repair itself, no trace of the sword golems that were just standing there moments ago.

The third knight huffed, noticing that Emiya and Artoria were also just about done with their golems, "Hmph, that was more boring than I expected."

He then turned, heading for the lower floors, before he glanced back at the stairs leading to the higher floors, and he smirked slightly, 'Hmph, well, they can handle everything themselves anyways.'

Gilgamesh then walked down the stairs, very much intent on getting a glass of wine.

XXX

AND DONE.

So yeah, that's the latest chapter. So we've covered Tanjiro and Giyuu team-tagging a single sword golem.

Then, Gilgamesh single handedly demolished three of them.

The next chapter will have Emiya and Artoria's fights against their sword golems, and we'll see Kirito and co go against Chudelkin.

So yeah, review please, and until next time.


	71. Chapter 71

Hey, this is the 71st chapter.

Sorry for the slightly late update. I was busy for Chinese New Year and I also had to prepare going to Australia, since I'll be studying pharmacy over there, so all those preparations held me from actually working on the chapter.

Speaking of which, DAMN this is a messy year. First we had a legend's passing by the name of Kobe Bryant, then we have this mess of the Corona Virus.

Its a bit late, but let us all have a moment of silence for that.

I hope everyone drinks 25 litres of water a day, cuz apparently that seems to be one of the only ways to fight that virus off. XD

Anyways, thank you all for your reviews as always.

To the **Guest** , currently, I don't plan on having Asuna, Sinon, Leafa or even Hikari enter the Underworld as in canon.

I have other plans for that. In fact, expect the story to be different than canon in several ways.

Let me give you an example, in canon, there were less than a dozen Integrity Knights available for the war. Obviously, we don't have that here, for we have over 30 knights ready and willing.

So, while the outline will follow canon very loosely. And I emphasise on loosely, cuz I'll be changing things a bit as I go.

To **Said Saber Fang** , or izzit **Saint Saber Fang** , I don't know if you're the same person or if its just a typo in the name, but I'm assuming you are the same person.

Its fine if you wanna think about it, just tell me who the person you're thinking of and I'll drop em a message about it.

To **Saifani Tri** , I know I answered you in the PM, but I'll just say it here again.

Alice Zuberg in canon, Alice Synthesis Thirty in canon, and the Alice in my story are all three different people.

Alice Zuberg grew up with only Eugeo. She has next to no memories of Kirito, just like how Eugeo had no memories of Kirito. And of course, she likes Eugeo.

Alice Synthesis Thirty in canon didn't know Eugeo or Kirito since she lost her memories. And she loves Kirito, or rather, started loving him, when she took care of him for half a year.

The Alice in my story, is more a mix of the two Alice's in canon. This Alice grew up with both Kirito and Eugeo. She also retained her memories from her childhood.

So to be precise, this Alice isn't Alice Zuberg in canon nor is she the knight from canon. She is a different person with a similar character background.

And well, I said it in the past few chapters. Alice will be in Kirito's harem. One way or another. XD

Finally, **Guest** , don't worry, you'll be seeing Naruko, or as I named her in this story, Hikari, and the others quite soon enough.

So yeah, that settles it. Without further ado, here is the newest chapter.

XXX

With Emiya, the man stared at the two sword golems, both of the golems slowly flanking him.

The man smirked, holding the pair of falchions tightly.

In the next instant, the sword golems charged. The one of Emiya's right9 swung its sword arm, and in response, the knight jumped up, before he parried a slash from the second golem.

Not missing a beat, Emiya threw both Kanshou and Bakuya at the golem on his left, before projecting a large black bow, kicking the left golem's arm to push himself back and further up into the air.

As he fell, Emiya quickly traced a twisted oddly shaped sword that didn't look unlike an arrow.

The man let out a breath, as he poured his mana into the projectile, "I am the bone of my sword."

Emiya took aim, his bow and arrow pointed at the golem on his left, and his eyes widened ever so slightly, "CALADBOLG!"

The archer let the arrow loose, its aim true.

The altered version of the rainbow sword struck the center of the sword golem. In the next instant, the projectile exploded as it struck the golem.

Emiya landed on the ground, and soon, the explosion died off, revealing a large crater on the floor, slowly repairing itself. The only sign that the sword golem ever existed was golden dust that lingered in the air.

The knight then raised a copy of Kanshou, redirecting a strike from the remaining sword golem to the ground.

Emiya glanced at the other sword golem he was facing, and he jumped away as the golem tried to smash him with its other sword arm.

The knight clad in red let out a breath, and in an instant, he projected a red spear, "System Call: Enhance Armament."

The spear glowed, and Emiya narrowed his eyes, "Release Recollection. GAE! BOLG!"

The spear unleashed a murderous aura, and in the next instant, Emiya threw it at the sword golem.

The spear sailed through the air like a missile, and just like with the Caladbolg II, the spear exploded upon contact with the golem, instantly obliterating it.

The knight let out a breath, as he dispersed the copy of Cu Chulain's spear, the man then turned, noticing that Gilgamesh was gone, 'Huh, must've went down.'

(linebreak)

Meanwhile earlier, with Artoria, the former king of knights stared at the two sword golems.

The knight let out a breath, drawing her sword, and in the next instant, the two sword golems charged, swinging their sword arms at her.

The knight merely looked at them, before she raised both of her arms.

With her sword in her right hand, Artoria blocked a strike, while with her left free arm, she caught the sword firmly in her grasp.

The blonde looked at the golems, before she pushed the golem's sword arm in her grasp to the ground.

Then, with strong push, Artoria pushed the other golem's arm away with her sword.

As the golems regained their balance, Artoria contemplated if she should use her Full Armament Control Arts. The first phase was pretty much safe to use, but the second phase would most likely blow a very large hole in the tower.

Letting out a breath, Artoria decided it would be less trouble to just straight up destroy the golems without damaging the cathedral.

Filling her sword with mana, Artoria gave a hard swing, unleashing a concentrated burst of mana from her sword directed at one of the sword golems.

The golem didn't have the time to dodge the blow, as the wave of mana engulfed it, disintegrating it within seconds.

Artoria let out a breath as she immediately turned her attention to the remaining golem, staring passively at it.

The golem swiftly charged at the knight, closing the distance between them in an instant, but Artoria didn't appear fazed at all.

As the golem readied itself to strike, Artoria moved.

Charging her body with mana, including her sword, the former king of knights let out a huge burst of mana as she swung the Sword of Promised Victory.

The effects were instant, as the burst of mana blew the golem apart.

Not missing a beat, Artoria focused all her mana into the Excalibur, before she swung it hard horizontally, vaporising the remains of the sword golem.

The knight let out a breath, before she relaxed, sheathing her sword.

The female knight turned, as she noticed Emiya walking to her. In fact, she also noticed they were alone in the room.

Artoria asked, "Gilgamesh went down, didn't he?"

Emiya nodded, "Yep."

The blonde nodded, before she looked at the stairs leading to the 98th floor, "So, should we go up?"

Emiya shrugged, "Eh, no idea..."

Artoria sighed, before she nodded, "Fine, I'll go up, just in case. Follow me if you want."

Emiya shrugged again before he followed the blonde up the stairs.

(linebreak)

Meanwhile, when the fights started, with Kirito, Eugeo, Alice, Bercouli and Fanatio, the five of them were on the 98th floor.

As they reached the floor, Bercouli looked around expectantly, but nothing came.

The first knight raised an eyebrow, "Nothing?"

Alice glanced at him, "What's wrong, Ojii-sama?"

Bercouli glanced around again, before he shook his head, "No, its nothing, let's head up."

Kirito, Eugeo and Fanatio nodded, as they headed for the stairs that would lead them to the 99th floor of the Central Cathedral.

The five quickly reached the 99th floor, and they quickly saw Chudelkin waiting for them at the center of the floor.

The Prime Senator grinned, "Good, you're finally here."

Kirito looked around, before he noticed the rather huge luxurious bed behind the man, and on it was a very familiar silver haired woman, naked, her face blank, and several suspicious white spots over the bed and the woman's body.

The knights, moreso for Bercouli and Fanatio, grew enraged at the sight.

The first knight glared at the pale man, "You son of a bitch."

Chudelkin followed their gazes, before grinned, "Ah yes, she's quite... enjoyable, I suppose."

Alice glared at him, "You won't get away with this."

The prime senate grinned creepily, "I've already done so for years now."

Bercouli took a breath, calming himself down, "And that's why we'll end it here."

Chudelkin chuckled creepily, "Not really, its really just the beginning. Once I take care of you, I'll reset all the knights' memories, and the human empire will be mine."

Eugeo stared at the clown with a hard gaze, drawing his sword, "You won't get the chance."

Chudelkin stared at the five knights amusedly, "Are you sure? When you're not only up against me, but the full might of my dear Quinella?"

The clown snapped his fingers, and in response, the naked avatar of the goddess stood up from the bed, power rolling off of her in waves.

Chudelkin grinned at the wary faces of the five knights, before he exclaimed, "And to top things off!"

The clown flipped, so that he was balancing himself on his head, and he clapped his palms together, "SYSTEM CALL! GENERATE! THERMAL! ELEMENT!"

Chudelkin pushed his hands apart, as five elemental spheres of fire formed on his fingertips, toes, ears, mouth, nose and eyes.

The knights watched in horror, or rather, apprehension, as the prime senator's body erupted in flames, growing into a massive sphere of fire, before the sphere morphed into a rough shape of Chudelkin's body.

Bercouli gritted his teeth, "Dammit."

He glanced at the other knights with him, before he spoke, "Kirito, Eugeo, Alice, I want you to take care of Chudelkin, can you do that? Fanatio and I will take on Lady Quinella's avatar."

The three younger knights nodded. Kirito glared at the flaming giant determinedly, "Yeah, we'll kick his ass."

Alice and Eugeo just nodded in response as they readied themselves.

Fanatio nodded as she stared at the avatar of Quinella warily, "Be careful, got it?"

The three knights nodded, and Alice glanced at her mentor and senior, "Good luck, Ojii-sama, Fanatio."

The two oldest knights nodded, as they faced the avatar of their respected goddess.

(linebreak)

With Kirito, Eugeo, and Alice, the three childhood friends faced the flaming entity, its large eyes staring down at them, its wide mouth grinning creepily.

Chudelkin spoke gleefully, "So, three young knights, let's see what you can do, shall we?"

Alice readied her sword, "Guys, get ready."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, drawing their swords as the massive flaming giant towered over them.

Chudelkin grinned gleefully as he saw the wary faces of the three knights.

The prime senator raised his feet, and tried to stomp on the three knights, but only to miss as they dove out of the way.

Not missing the chance, Alice charged in, swinging her blade, and landed a huge slash on the giant's ankle.

The girl grimaced as she felt the heat from Chudelkin's flames, quickly backing away as fast as she could.

Alice frowned, still feeling the heat even after she was far away from the flaming giant. The girl tch'd, as the cut she had dealt to Chudelkin's ankle quickly regenerated, though that was to be expected.

Eugeo glanced at the girl, gaining her attention, "Any ideas how we can beat him?"

Alice narrowed her eyes, not looking away from Chudelkin as he smiled creepily at them, "My flowers won't be able to touch him, nor can our Armament Full Control Arts overpower him."

Kirito immediately understood what she meant, furrowing his brows, "Yeah, all of our weapons are based off of plants. Fire isn't really a good match."

The three were cut off from the discussion when Chudelkin jumped up, slamming on to the floor, sending waves of flames at them, forcing them to dodge the flames.

Eugeo cursed as he rolled onto the ground just in time to avoid the flames, before an idea popped into his head.

The blue knight glanced at Alice, "Alice! Chudelkin's main body is inside, right?"

Alice looked at her friend, and nodded, "Yeah, his body should be in the middle, where the heart should be."

Eugeo stared at the giant's chest, "Then, if I use my ice to cool him down, can your flowers force open the flames?"

Alice jumped away to dodge a wave of flames again, something mirrored by both of her friends. The girl considered the idea, before she nodded, "If we do it together, I'd say we can force an opening for approximately 10 seconds."

Eugeo nodded, looking at Kirito, "Kirito, 10 seconds, can you do it?"

The young man looked at his brother and Alice, before he nodded, "Yeah."

Eugeo nodded, as the two blondes gripped their respective swords.

As his childhood friends started to prepare their Armament Full Control Arts, Kirito furrowed his brows, visualising the one weapon he needed to kill Chudelkin.

Chu Cu Lain's prized weapon. The spear Gae Bolg.

But before he could start the process, everything stoppe, and a familiar voice sounded in his mind, "Right now, the Gae Bolg you can project won't be able to fully kill Chudelkin."

Kirito's eyes barely widened as he recognised his own voice, or rather, his previous incarnation's voice.

The young man narrowed his eyes, 'What do you mean?'

Inside their shared soul, Kazuto closed his eyes, "Exactly what I mean. As good as you are, the Gae Bolg you project won't be able to kill Chudelkin in 10 seconds. If you had 3 more seconds, then it'd be a totally different story of course, but that's irrelevant."

Kirito frowned, 'Then what do I do?'

Kazuto smiled, "Simple. We can use something called the Incarnate System. Since it'll be your first time, I'll handle the rest, and you image your attack."

Kirito nodded, 'Got it.'

The knight took a deep breath, and he slid into a stance. The stance for the sword skill, Vorpal Strike, but with one difference. The sword would extend, and it would pierce through Chudelkin's main body.

As Kirito visualized the attack, Kazuto smirked lightly at the image of the attack, 'Yeah, that'll work.'

The god of blades quickly set to work, molding Kirito's mana for the attack, before his eyes widened as he felt a pulse of mana coming from a deeper source within their shared body.

The god chuckled in amusement before he continued to help shape Kirito's mana according to the image they had.

Back to the real world, Kirito felt a pulse of mana through his body, and his sword glowed bright crimson, his eyes glowing yellow at the same time, glaring at the giant form of Chudelkin.

With Alice and Eugeo, the two quickly noticed the increase in mana output from Kirito, and nodded at each other.

Alice raised her sword, while Eugeo flipped his into reverse grip, the tip facing down, and the two yelled in unison, "System Call: ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"

Immediately, the two swords glowed. The Blue Rose Sword maintained the glow, while the Fragrant Olive Sword dispersed into a thousand petals.

Alice let mana flow through her sword, and she yelled, "Release RECOLLECTION!"

The girl thrust her sword forward, forming a huge vortex made of olive flowers.

As for Eugeo, the blonde stabbed his sword onto the ground, "SAKE! AOBARA!"

Immediately, icy throny tendrils bloomed on the ground, snaking their way towards Alice's hurricane of flowers, adding to it their icy attribute.

Chudelkin raised an eyebrow, still grinning creepily at them, "Is that it?"

The flaming giant didn't bother moving, taking the combined attack head on. His eyes widened, however, when he actually felt the attack, and he grunted as the attack slowly, but surely, forced away the flames at his chest.

In his panicked state over the fact that Alice and Eugeo had ripped open a hole in his chest, Chudelkin had totally forgotten about Kirito, and that was what cost him.

With Kirito, the young man was practically radiating mana, his sword shrouded by a murderous red glow that wasn't unlike the spear Kirito had intended to use.

Then, in the next instant, Kirito, roared, and he thrust his sword forward.

The glowing sword extended and it reached Chudelkin's chest in an instant.

Blood stained the floor, as Chudelkin's eyes widened, his mind barely registering the fact that there was a sword in his chest.

But as soon as it came, the extension faded away, leaving Kirito's sword in its original length.

As soon as that happened, the flames that made up the giant form of Chudelkin faded away, leaving the corpse of the clown on the floor, surrounded by his own blood.

Kirito walked to the corpse, as Alice and Eugeo did the same.

Alice scrunched her nose in disgust, "Good riddance."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, come on, let's go help Bercouli-sensei and Fanatio."

The two nodded, and they turned to where Bercouli, Fanatio and Quinella's avatar were.

But before they could, they heard a loud command, "System Call: Deep Freeze. Integrator Units 001, 002."

The three younger knights' eyes widened in shock, and they turned just in time to see the two oldest knights frozen, the last of their skin on their faces being covered with frost right in front of their eyes.

Alice stared at the two knights, "Ojii-sama, Fanatio-dono..."

(linebreak)

Earlier, as Kirito, Eugeo and Alice went to face Chudelkin, Bercouli and Fanatio stared at the avatar of their goddess.

Fanatio gripped her sword tightly, "Commander."

Bercouli nodded, feeling the weight of the daggers in his pocket, "Yeah, she won't let us get to her so easily. We need an opening."

Fanatio nodded, "But how?"

The first knight frowned, "That's the problem, we're not sure how strong she actually is, Lady Quinella has never actually gone all out before."

Fanatio stared at the avatar, who just stared at them blankly, "Then what do we do?"

Bercouli let out a breath, raising his free hand at the avatar, "We gauge her reaction to our attacks."

The man narrowed his eyes, "System Call. Generate Umbral Element. Lightning Shape. Discharge."

From Bercouli's fingertips, five balls of darkness shot towards Quinella's avatar, taking the form of lightning.

The attack struck the woman straight on, bringing up a cloud of dust, before it quickly cleared, revealing Quinella's avatar to be perfectly fine.

Bercouli tch'd, "I almost went all out, and she's not even winded. As expected of Lady Quinella, even if its just an avatar."

Fanatio frowned, "Then, what do we do? "

Bercouli brought out one of the daggers and handed it to Fanatio, "Here, we'll just have to wing it, so stab her if you see a chance."

Fanatio nodded, grabbing the dagger, before Bercouli spoke again, "Here she comes."

The avatar stared at them passively, before she brought her hand up, "System Call. Generate Umbral Element. Ball Shape. Discharge."

A ball of darkness swirled into existence in Quinella's hand, and she thrust it forward, sending the growing sphere of darkness at the two oldest knight.

Bercouli and Fanatio dashed to a side, avoiding the ball of darkness easily.

Looking at Quinella's avatar, Bercouli gripped his sword, "Fanatio, I'm gonna place slashes all over the place, try to keep her busy."

The second knight nodded, as Bercouli went to work.

Fanatio then turned her focus on the avatar, raising her sword, "System Call. Enhance Armament."

Her sword glowed for a brief moment, before it subsided, but it was obvious her sword was different from before.

The activation of Fanatio's Full Armament Control Art effectively tore Quinella's avatar's attention from Bercouli, who had also managed to subtly activate his own Full Armament Control Art.

The avatar stared at the purple haired woman, before she charged.

Fanatio narrowed her eyes, preparing her sword as the avatar closed in.

Then, right as the avatar reached Fanatio's range, the second knight unleashed the energy stored within her sword.

The avatar's eyes barely widened, as she swiftly stopped, but not in time to dodge the attack, and the beam of light struck her in the face.

Taking the small opening she had created, Fanatio leaped away, firing several more beams of light at the goddess' avatar, bringing up a cloud of dust around the avatar.

The cloud of dust quickly cleared, and as Fanatio expected, the avatar didn't have a hint of damage on her.

The second knight's eyes darted to Bercouli, who was sprinting around the avatar, seemingly swinging his sword wildly and blindly, but anyone who knew him would know otherwise.

The two oldest knight' eyes met, and Bercouli narrowed his eyes, shaking his head ever so slightly as he continued his swings.

Fanatio nodded in understanding, she needed to stall for a bit more time.

The woman let out a breath, and leaped away just in time to dodge a ball of fire from the avatar.

The knight quickly aimed the tip of her sword at the avatar, sending several more blasts of light at Quinella's avatar.

But again, the attacks didn't do much damage.

Fanatio cursed silently, it was foolish to think her sword would be able to hurt the avatar, considering it contained a majority of Quinella's powers.

The avatar herself, meanwhile, just stared at Fanatio blankly, before she sent a blast of ice at the knight.

Fanatio instinctively shot a beam of light from her sword, effectively stopping the attack.

Then, right as Fanatio was about to attack, she saw Bercouli stop running, giving her a nod.

Fanatio turned her attention back to Quinella's avatar, and instead of using her sword, the knight raised her free hand at the avatar, "System Cal. Generate Metallic Element. Form Element. Wall shape. Discharge! "

In response to her chant, a metal wall formed in front of Fanatio, and shot towards the avatar.

The avatar didn't show any reaction, instead, allowing the wall to slam into her, breaking into pieces, doing no damage to her body yet again.

But it served its purpose. Distracting the avatar for one more time.

As Quinella's avatar was once again focused on Fanatio, Bercouli closed in, charging his sword with mana.

Then, he gave a strong and firm swing.

The sword found its target, and the force from the strike sent the avatar skidding to a side.

Bercouli cursed, the strike, as expected, didn't do much damage to the avatar, but it had pushed her away far lesser than he had expected.

Not wanting to let the chance slip away, he yelled, "Fanatio! "

The woman nodded, raising her sword and free arm at the avatar, "System Call. Generate Thermal Element. Form Element : Ball Shape Discharge!"

The female knight sent a beam of light and a horse sized ball of flames at the avatar, gaining her attention.

The avatar quickly crossed her arms, blocking the attack, but was still sent skidding a short distance backwards, right into Bercouli's pre-slashed area.

The first knight grinned, 'Nice! '

Not letting the chance go, the man released all the prepared slashes on the avatar, earning a rather huge explosion due to the simultaneous heat waves slashing at the avatar.

Fanatio glanced at Bercouli again, who nodded and dashed forward, the dagger in his hand.

In the next instant, Bercouli's arm was extended, the dagger in his hands held in reverse grip, stabbed against Quinella's avatar.

The smoke soon dissipated, and Bercouli and Fanatio's eyes widened in shock.

The reason was simple. The dagger didn't touch Quinella's avatar, but instead, it was stabbed into a slab of metal from Fanatio's wall of metal she had used earlier.

The avatar glanced at the dagger with indifference, before looking at Bercouli.

Then, before Bercouli could respond, the avatar swiftly kicked the first knight away, sending him flying skidding across the ground, before Fanatio managed to catch him.

The woman furrowed her brows as she stared at the avatar of their goddess, "So, what now? "

Bercouli grunted as he stood up, "No idea, we'll just have to keep trying."

Fanatio nodded silently, gripping her sword tightly.

But before any of them could react, Quinella's avatar blurred.

In the next instant, Bercouli's dagger was kicked out of his hand, and Fanatio felt a hard kick at her stomach before she was sent flying away.

Landing softly on the ground, the avatar raised her hands at the knights, and started chanting, "System Call. Deep Freeze. Integrator Units 001, 002."

(linebreak, now)

Quinella's avatar stared at the frozen figures of the oldest knights with indifference, before she noticed Kirito, Eugeo and Alice.

Eugeo cursed, "Here she comes."

The avatar raised a finger at the three, and started, "System Call: Generate Umbral Element. Discharge."

Five balls of darkness formed at her fingertips, and shot towards the three young knights, prompting them to dodge the attack.

Eugeo yelled as he rolled to his feet, "What do we do now?!"

Alice eyed the dagger on the floor, stabbed through a slab of metal, "There."

Eugeo and Kirito followed her gaze, and immediately understood.

There was tiny problem, however.

The dagger was behind Quinella's avatar, placing the silver haired woman between them and the dagger.

Kirito let out a breath, "Well, that's a bit of a problem..."

The young man glanced at Alice, and she nodded.

Alice glanced at Eugeo, "Eugeo, we'll keep her busy, you get the dagger."

The young blonde nodded, "Got it."

Alice and Kirito shared a nod, and they dashed forward.

Drawing his sword back, Kirito allowed mana to flow into his sword, "Aincrad Style: Rage Spike!"

Alice stopped, letting Kirito charge right past her, and pointed her Fragrant Olive Sword at the avatar, "ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"

The bronze/golden sword instantly burst into its thousand petals, enshrouding Kirito as he charged forward.

Noticing the young man charging at her, the avatar raised a finger, "System Call. Generate Metallic Element. Form Element: Shield Shape. Discharge."

Immediately, a huge shield made of metal appeared in front of Kirito's path, stopping his sword as the petals continued forward towards Quinella's avatar, keeping the avatar in place, but not doing any actual damage.

The young man tch'd, pulling his sword back and quickly spun around the shield, channelling a different skill through his sword, "Aincrad Style: Horizontal!"

This time, the sword struck the fake goddess, but to Kirito and Alice's shock, the blade only gave the woman a small very shallow bruise, drawing but a speck of blood from her cheek.

The avatar wiped the small wound with her finger, glancing at the blood on it, before looking at Kirito, speaking for the first time throughout the whole fight, "All that for a drop of blood... Is that all you got, Kazuto?"

Kirito's eyes widened, "Wha-"

He was cut off, as the avatar slammed her palm into his chest armor, sending him flying away, almost crashing into Eugeo had the blonde not dove away.

Alice cursed, and commanded her flowers to attack the fake goddess again, but to the avatar, they were only like annoying insects flying around her.

The avatar turned her attention to Alice, and the knight cursed, before she asked, trying to buy time as she saw Eugeo inching towards the dagger behind the fake goddess, "You can talk?"

Quinella's avatar raised an eyebrow, "Hmm? Of course I can. You thought me to be mute?"

Alice nodded, noticing Eugeo slowly reaching the dagger, and Kirito slowly getting up, "You didn't talk, and considering you are a part of Lady Quinella's powers and..."

The girl trailed off, glancing at the white spots on the bed at the side, and the fake goddess huffed, "Ridiculous, and I allowed that pig to do what he wants because it doesn't affect me at all, and it makes it easier to manipulate him."

Alice blinked, furrowing her brows, "Manipulate?"

The avatar smiled slyly, "Ah yes, none of you know. I'm not just a clone of that goddess. Well, I may have started off like that, but you know, when you only have the company of a very corrupted official and information on the world's corruption, you tend to gain awareness of certain things."

Kirito got up, glaring at the avatar, "So all these years, you were aware of what he was doing?"

The avatar glanced at Kirito, "Why yes. I was the one who suggested them after all."

Kirito glared at her coldly, "You bitch..."

The major fragment of Quinella's powers smirked evilly, "It doesn't matter anyways. Besides, you've stalled enough already, right?"

The avatar turned and glanced at Eugeo, who had just picked up the dagger, smiling amusedly.

The blonde cursed, his body tensing up immediately, but the fake goddess paid it no mind.

The avatar turned back to Alice, "Now, how about you all try again, try to entertain me?"

Kirito cursed, readying the image of the Gae Bolg in his mind once again, but just like previously, Kazuto spoke up, and everything froze from Kirito's point of view, "Your Gae Bolg won't work."

Kirito frowned, thinking, 'What do you mean it won't work?'

Kazuto sighed, "The Gae Bolg doesn't possess any anti-divinity traits. Yes, it can definitely harm a god, and Quinella's avatar is no exception. But she won't be held down long enough for Eugeo to do anything."

The young man frowned, "Then what do we do?"

The god closed his eyes, "You need a weapon that possesses an anti-divinity trait. And I have just the weapon that can work, the spear Vasavi Shakti."

Kirito nodded, before he thought, 'I sense a but.'

Kazuto chuckled humourlessly, "Yes, your body cannot handle the amount of power it unleashes. The spear itself is almost on par with Gilgamesh's Ea, even Emiya would have trouble handling the spear at full power. Though, I can regulate the energy entering your body, but you will be immobile for a while after you use it."

The reincarnation of the god frowned, but he nodded, 'I see, it can't be helped, we'll have to do it.'

Kazuto nodded, and he retreated back into their shared soul, "Very well. You should know which spear it is, I'll regulate the flow of energy from within."

Kirito nodded, and time resumed for him, as everything continued to move again.

The young knight slowly moved to Alice, wary of Quinella's avatar, who merely looked at him amusedly.

As soon as he reached her, Kirito spoke softly, "Alice, listen, I have a plan, I may be able to injure her enough, so I want you to try to hold her in place while I get it ready. Can you do it?

Alice glanced at her childhood friend, and a smile graced her face, "Of course."

Kirito nodded, and the blonde girl stepped forward, once again pointing her sword at the fake goddess, commanding her flowers to surround her.

The flowers swarmed around Quinella's avatar, causing the fake goddess to raise an eyebrow, "This again?"

The avatar, again, was only held in place by the flowers, not damaged at all, but that was all Alice needed to do.

With Kirito, the young man sent his brother a glance, and they shared a nod, prompting the blonde to slowly move behind Quinella's avatar, but careful not to move into Kirito's line of fire.

Immediately, Kirito raised his free hand, "Trace. On!"

A huge spear formed in front of him, one that the fake goddess evidently recognised.

The spear also fully drew her attention away from the blonde knight behind her.

The avatar glared at Kirito, "How do you know of that spear?!"

Kirito didn't answer, he was more occupied with holding in the power the spear threatened to unleash, even with Kazuto regulating the energy inside his body.

Then, the young man took a deep breath, "System Call. Enhance Armament."

Instantly, the spear responded, taking on a red glow, before it died down, the power to wield fire, light and thunder coursing through the spear, and by extension, Kirito's body.

For a moment, the young knight winced as all the divine power from the spear flowed into his body. But it quickly subsided, Kazuto doing his work within their shared soul.

Kirito tightened his grip on the spear, and he spoke the second set of words needed to unleash the spear's full might, "Release Recollection."

Quinella's avatar's eyes widened in fear, and she quickly tried to break out of the flowers, but to no avail.

The fake goddess' head snapped over to Alice, to see her gripping the hilt of her sword tightly, doing her best to keep the avatar in place.

The blonde knight let a small smile grace her features again, "You won't get away this time."

The avatar cursed, before she realized she had given Kirito enough time to ready his attack.

The woman turned, only to see Kirito without his armor, the spear glowing brightly, a red ball of energy at the tip of the spear, eager to unleash its wrath upon Kirito's target.

The knight pulled back the spear, and muttered, before yelling at the end, "Burn it all down. VASAVI SHAKTI!"

The knight gave a strong thrust, unleashing a beam of energy that immediately engulfed the fake goddess, punching a huge hole in the cathedral's walls before arching up towards the sky.

After exactly 5 seconds, the beam died down, and the copy of Indra's spear vanished from Kirito's hands, the young knight falling to his knees in exhaustion as his armor reformed on his body.

As for Quinella's avatar, the smoke around her cleared, revealing a horrific sight.

Gone was the beautiful naked woman with perfect skin and the lush silver hair.

Instead, in its place, was a figure with burned flesh, her hair burned to ashes.

Kirito cursed, unable to muster any strength to move even as he fell to his knees.

Alice, seeing the chance, yelled, "Eugeo, now! "

The blonde male knight nodded, not wishing to give up the hard earned opportunity, and he charged forward, the dagger in his hand.

The fake goddess' eyes widened as she realized she had completely forgotten about Eugeo upon seeing Kirito produce the copy of the thunder god's spear.

As quickly as she could, the woman turned, chanting as she did, "System Call. Generate Thermal Element. Form Element: Ball Shape. Discharge!"

Right as she faced Eugeo, Quinella's avatar unleashed the fireball at him, but she was too early, as the distance between them didn't give her a guaranteed shot.

As the fireball shot towards him, Eugeo rolled to a side, before continuing his sprint towards the charred woman.

In a desperate attempt to stop the young blonde knight, Quinella's avatar started to chant, "System Call. Deep Freeze. Integrator Unit-"

The woman couldn't complete the chant, as frosty tendrils covered her mouth, along with her body, holding her in place once again.

Eugeo shot his brother a grateful glance, who tiredly held a copy of the Blue Rose Sword stabbed into the ground.

Then, Eugeo reached the woman, and he gave the fake goddess a hard stab in the gut with the dagger in his hand.

The fake goddess' eyes widened in shock at what just happened, and before she could even say a word, she burst into blue particles, seeping down into the floor, most likely returning to Quinella herself.

Eugeo blinked several times, "Is... Is it over?

Kirito let out a breath, dispersing the copy of the Blue Rose Sword, before falling to the ground in exhaustion, "I sure hope it is.. I'm exhausted."

Alice just smiled at the black knight's response, "I think its over, now we just need to find Lady Cardinal and Lady Quinella."

"No need for that."

The three young knights turned to see Cardinal and a very much younger Quinella walking out from the Great Library's entrance, the door closing behind them.

Quinella smiled, "You've done well, all of you. Thanks to you, I have all of my powers back now."

Eugeo nodded, before he asked, "Ermm, by the way, are the others still frozen?

Cardinal and Quinella both blinked, glancing at each other, before the shorter goddess nodded, clearing her throat, "Y-yes, I'll take care of that."

Raising her staff, the aspect of wisdom slammed it down onto the ground, sending a burst of mana throughout the entire cathedral.

Immediately, the Deep Freeze placed upon the cathedral was undone, and at the same time, Bercouli and Fanatio regained their colour.

The first knight blinked, quickly noticing his three protéges and the two goddesses standing some distance from them, "Lady Quinella? Y-you're back to normal?"

The silver haired woman nodded kindly, "Yes, Bercouli."

The knight chuckled and looked at his students, "I see, so the three of you got it done. Great job!"

Fanatio sighed, "And we messed up and got frozen."

Cardinal smiled softly, "What's done is done. The important thing is that we have retaken Quinella's full strength, and we can start fixing the mistakes and problems Chudelkin made."

Kirito nodded, still lying on the floor, "Yeah, that's good and all, but for now, I wanna take a nap please."

Everyone laughed, and Cardinal commented, "Even after so many years, I see your laziness is still as prominent as ever."

Quinella shook her head, her smile not leaving her face, "I suppose a break wouldn't be too much to ask for."

Eugeo chuckled and hoisted his brother up, "Come on."

After that, they headed for the lower floors, blissfully unaware of the black blotch that formed on the floor after they left.

After making sure the place was clear, the black substance moved to the edge of the window, before jumping off of the cathedral.

(linebreak)

Meanwhile, deep within the Dark Territory, stood one massive castle that was two times the size of the Central Cathedral.

In the castle, at the private living quarters of the owner of the castle, one man opened his eyes for the first time in centuries.

The man had loose blonde hair slicked to the back and cold blue eyes, wearing royal robes that fitted right with the place he was in.

The man stared up at the ceiling, letting out a shallow breath, "I feel you, brother."

(linebreak)

At the same time, as Kirito went to the lower floors with his fellow knights, deep within his soul, Kazuto felt a small tug.

The tug was also felt by the other part of their soul, as the unconscious form of the third part of Kirito's soul glowed briefly, before dying out.

Kazuto looked up, closing his eyes, "Yeah, I feel you, brother."

XXX

DONE! So that's the end of the arc. The next few chapters will clean up the current arc, as well as some time for Alice.

After that, we will be bringing back the Elemental Nations!

So yeah, hope you guys liked this chapter. Review please.

Until next time.


	72. Chapter 72

Yo, sorry for the slightly late update. I was busy moving to Australia on a credit transfer, so I didn't have much time to work on the chapter.

Heck, I didn't even have time to read any of the stories I follow, so I had to balance between writing the chapter, read the new ones I follow, and all other shit.

But it's done now. So cheers!

So, to **NeonGamer973Fa,** thank you for the review. I didn't have the time before, but now that I do, I'll look up what you've written! XD

To **Saint Saber Fang** , thanks man, I pm'd one of em, not sure if he's interested, but maybe you should also ask some of them if you want ahaha.

To **Saifani Tri** , nope. That's not Eugeo, nor his former incarnation. Not even close. His hair is blonde, and has blue eyes. Not sure what you mean by black things, though. Although, I mentioned the identity of that 'brother' at the end of this chapter, so just read and find out yourself. XD

So yeah, here's the newest chapter of the story. Enjoy!

XXX

That night, the Integrity Knights were fully briefed on what had happened, and they decided a celebration was needed for the return of Cardinal and Quinella.

Now, as the male knights were stuffing their faces with food and booze, Alice looked out at the streets from a window, a glass half filled with wine in her hand.

The blonde sighed, glancing at Kirito as he goofed around with Bercouli, Cu Chulain and Tanjiro.

She was brought out from her thoughts when she heard a voice, "What's got you so down?"

The blonde turned to see Nero, grinning brightly as usual.

Alice smiled softly, "Its nothing."

Nero went to stand beside her, raising an eyebrow, "You sure?"

The younger knight nodded, "Yes."

The former emperor studied the girl's face for a moment, causing Alice to stare at her awkwardly, "Ermm, is there anything wrong, Nero?"

The rose knight grinned, "Yep, I see the problem! You have boy problems! "

Alice blinked, feeling a blush creeping up her face, "W-what!?"

Nero grinned, "So, who is it?"

The knight in red scanned the area, "Hmm, Emiya, too old. Bercouli, Fanatio'd kill you before you even thought of him. Gilgamesh, no way. Tanjiro, Tsuyuri'd kick your ass first. Siegfried, nope. Giyuu, too dumb. Zenitsu, too wimpy, same for Renry. Gawain, possibly, but age gap again. Lancelot, too playboy-ish for your tastes. Cu Chulain, nope. Deusolbert, too old. Eldrie, he's like your annoying brother."

The red knight then grinned, "So, that leaves Eugeo and Kirito. Who is it?"

Alice sighed, trying hard to suppress her blush, "Can we just drop this?"

Nero grinned and shook her head, "Nope!"

The flamboyant blonde stared at Alice's face for a while before she grinned, taking a guess, "Its Kirito, isn't it?"

This time, Alice couldn't hold in her blush, "W-what?!"

Nero grinned, "Bingo. So, what's the problem?"

The blonde frowned lightly, "Do I have to say it?"

The older knight grinned, "Yep! I won't leave you alone until you do."

Alice sighed, "Fine..."

Nero grinned in triumph, "Good. Now let's hear it."

The younger blonde sighed, before she glanced around to make sure no one was near them, "Kirito... already has a girlfriend, and there's also another girl in the academy that wants him."

Nero's grin vanished, and she nodded, "I see, you fear you will be the third wheel, or in this case, the fourth wheel."

Alice didn't respond, but she gave a slow nod.

The former emperor giggled, before she patted Alice on the shoulder, "Well, I won't tell you exactly what to do, but keep this in mind. All is fair in love and war."

Alice blinked, "Wait, you're telling me to just go ahead and ruin their relationship?"

Nero shook her head, looking at Alice seriously, "No, I'm telling you to live your life to the fullest, do what you want. You're my descendant, you're also Artoria and Jeanne's descendant, although none of them come close to me in terms of awesomeness."

Nero paused, before she smiled and shook her head, "Well, that's beside the point."

She looked at the younger blonde, "Point is, you should do what you want, just as we all had."

Alice looked at her glass of wine, before Nero grinned, "Besides, Kirito is basically Lord Kazuto, and last I heard, there aren't any rules where a god cannot have a harem."

Alice spluttered, "W-what?!

The former emperor from the west giggled and turned to rejoin the party, "Well, just think about it. I doubt Kirito will reject your feelings, and given that you're an Integrity Knight, it won't be hard to convince those girls to share him with you."

Before the younger girl could respond, Nero had already walked away, leaving the girl alone yet again.

The girl considered the words her ancestor departed to her, and once again, her eyes landed on the one young man that had caused these thoughts in her.

Alice's eyes softened, staring at her childhood friend as he drunkenly screamed random stuff with Cu Chulain and Bercouli, with Eugeo and the other more somber knights laughing with them.

The girl let out a soft smile, before she decided to deal with her feelings at a later date, and went back to join her friends.

(linebreak)

The next day, Kirito, Alice and Eugeo were in the Great Library.

Cardinal had decided to put the entrance accessible in the cathedral from there on, that is, until there is a need to remove it

Now, Kirito looked at Quinella, "Hey, Quinella, can we go visit some people?"

The silver haired woman stared at the reincarnation of her brother with a raised eyebrow, "Why are you asking me?"

Kirito blinked, "Eh, I thought us knights aren't allowed to interact with normal civilians?"

Quinella chuckled, "Ah, that old rule. I've been thinking about it, and I believe its time we took that stupid rule away, no?"

The three knights visibly brightened, and Eugeo lowered his head slightly, "Thank you, Lady Quinella."

The silver haired goddess nodded, "Think nothing of it."

A memory then popped into Kirito's mind, and he groaned, palming his face, "Now how do I face Liena and Ronye?"

Quinella stared at her brother's reincarnation amusedly, glancing at Alice's suddenly stoic face.

The goddess smiled and spoke, "Oh they're not the only ones you'll have on your plate."

Kirito blinked, rather confused at her words, "What do you mean?"

Quinella gave Alice a subtle glance, something that the blonde obviously caught, and fortunately, something the two young men had missed.

The blonde blushed, and fortunately, she was standing behind the two males, so they couldn't see her expression.

Quinella smiled amusedly again, looking back at Kirito, "That's for you to find out yourself. I've given you quite the hint already."

Again, she only received confused stares from the two males in the room.

Quinella shook her head amusedly, "Never mind then... So, is there anything else you need?

Kirito thought about it, before he shook his head, "No, that's about it."

Quinella nodded, "Alright."

The three young knights quickly excused themselves, before they left the library, leaving Quinella alone.

(linebreak)

With Kirito, Eugeo and Alice, the three of them were at the dragon's den.

The blonde girl asked, "So, where do you two wanna go first?"

Kirito tightened the saddle on Kurogane, "I think I'll go visit the academy first."

Eugeo nodded, mounting Aogiri, "I'm okay with that.

Alice nodded as she mounted Amayori, "Then we go visit the village after that, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah."

The blonde girl nodded, before they headed for the launch pad, shooting out of the cathedral on their respective dragons.

As they soared through the skies, Alice glanced at Eugeo, "Hey, Eugeo, your Valet, that red haired girl, how are you gonna answer her, now that you can see her again?"

Eugeo looked at Alice, and he let out a breath, "I'm... not sure, but... I want to accept her feelings."

Alice nodded, "I see."

The blonde girl considered his answer for a moment, before she spoke, "Just to let you know, Selka has a huge crush on you. Not sure if she still does, but just to let you know."

Eugeo blinked several times, before he sighed, nodding silently.

Hearing the two blonde's exchange, Kirito thought about Liena and Ronye. He loved Liena, and saying that Ronye hadn't grown on him would be a flat out lie. He also couldn't bear to see his Valet heartbroken, not after what she told him the last time they saw each other.

That placed him in a very troublesome position, at least for himself. And then, if what Quinella told him was right, there was a third girl that liked him.

Kirito let out a sighed as the North Centoria Sword Mastery Academy came into view, he'd figure out something sooner or later.

The young man turned his focus to the academy, feeling rather nostalgic upon seeing it again.

Soon, the three knights landed on the ground, the exact area where Kirito and Eugeo had been taken away by Alice and Eldrie to the cathedral.

The three dismounted their dragons, and Kirito commented, "Man, this really brings back memories."

Eugeo nodded, "Yeah."

Alice merely smiled innocently, "Well, sending the two of you crashing onto the platform _was_ quite fun."

Kirito sighed, shaking his head, "For you maybe..."

Eugeo nodded in agreement, before he spoke, "Alright, let's go walk around. Maybe we can find Miss Azurica or something."

The other two nodded in agreement, and they started walking around, leaving the three dragons to their own.

As they walked, chatters could be heard as the students saw the three Integrity Knights. Some of the older students recognised Kirito and Eugeo, but none of them dared to talk to them and only talked amongst themselves.

Though even as they walked, Kirito and Eugeo had yet to see any of their friends.

That was, until they came across Azurica.

The woman blinked, not believing her eyes as she stared at the two very familiar young men, clad in armor of their signature colours, accompanied by the very same knight that took them away.

The instructor blinked again, rubbing her eyes, before staring at them again, "Kirito, Eugeo? Y-you're... Integrity Knights?"

Eugeo smiled sheepishly, something mirrored by his brother, "Yeah, things happened, and here we are."

The woman blinked several times, glancing between the three knights several times before she sighed, palming her face, "Never mind, I should have expected something similar."

No wait, actually she had expected them to run to the Dark Territory, so that counted, probably.

Azurica looked at them again, "So... I suppose I should address you as Lords, now?"

Kirito blinked and laughed lightly, waving his hand quickly, "Oh no! Just call us as you usually would."

Azurica nodded, glancing at Alice for confirmation, seeing as the blonde girl obviously held seniority amongst the three of them, and received a nod.

The instructor then asked again, "So, what brings you here? There isn't another case of the Index's violation, is there?"

Alice shook her head, speaking up this time, "No, we've recently settled some problems in the church, and Kirito and Eugeo have been given permission to visit the academy and their home. I'm merely accompanying them."

Azurica nodded respectfully at her answer, "Then is there anything I can help you with?"

Kirito took on a thinking pose, before he noticed the stares they were receiving, "Ermm, how about we talk in private?"

Azurica glanced around and nodded, "Yes, of course."

The woman turned, "Please follow me."

The three nodded, and they were quickly led to Azurica's private office.

As they entered the room, Kirito asked, "So, Miss Azurica, how's things been?"

The instructor smiled softly, "Not much has changed. Well, Sortiliena and Ran are back though, they're helping me out with tutoring the students."

Her smile turned to an amused one, "Although, I've heard rumors that she's waiting for Ronye and Tiese to graduate."

Kirito nodded with a smile, "I see."

Eugeo then asked, "So, they're still here, right? Can you get them to come here?"

Azurica nodded, "Of course. Please wait a moment."

The instructor excused herself, more to Alice than her two former students, before she headed out to retrieve Liena, Ronye and Tiese.

As the woman left, Alice smiled softly, "So, how did it feel?"

Kirito and Eugeo stared at her confusedly, the latter voicing it out, "What?"

Alice looked out through the curtained windows, where a small crowd of students were looking at them, "The students, I'm sure they didn't act like that before, right?"

Kirito understood what she meant, and he answered, "It felt weird, to be honest. Just weeks ago everyone'd talk to us, now they keep a distance, like they don't know us anymore."

Eugeo chuckled, "Well, can't blame them, we left as criminals, and came back as Integrity Knights as all things. Its just like when we found out Alice was one."

Kirito grinned, "I wonder what'd happen if they found out about me being a god?"

Alice smiled amusedly, "Well, they'd probably worship the ground you walk on."

Said reincarnated god shuddered at that thought, "Let's...not ever reveal it to the public."

Before they could continue, however, the door opened again, revealing Azurica, followed by three very familiar young women.

As soon as they entered, the three women froze.

Kirito grinned, "Hey."

Eugeo smiled awkwardly at his brother's nonchalant greeting, "First thing you see them and you say hey?

The black knight glanced at Eugeo with a judging gaze, "And what would you say?

Alice sighed and nudged her two friends in the ribs, shutting them up effectively

It was also then that the three girls recovered from their shock, and they spoke, shock still evident on her face, "K-kirito/senpai? Eugeo/senpai?"

The knight grinned, "Hey-"

Before he realized it, he found himself in a tight hug with both Liena and Ronye, with Tiese hugging Eugeo.

At that sight, Alice felt her chest tighten, a feeling of discomfort growing within her, moreso when she saw the two girls hugging Kirito. But she forced it down, looking at Azurica instead, "Let's give them some time alone."

The instructor nodded in agreement, before the two left the room silently.

With Kirito, he blinked as he was embraced by the two young women, and his gaze softened, "I'm back."

Liena pulled away, something followed by Ronye, and the older brunette asked, tears of happiness glistening in her eyes, "H-how?"

Ronye nodded, "I thought you were taken away for...

Kirito grinned, "I'm just that awesome."

Ronye smiled, wiping away her tears, "I doubt that, but I don't care about that. You're here.

The other woman nodded in agreement, before she took the time to look at Kirito's armor, "But, an Integrity Knight, I'd never think you'd go and become one.

Ronye smiled, nodding, "Yeah, we were thinking you'd run away to the Dark Territory and live there.

Kirito blinked before he laughed, "Yeah, that pretty much sounds like what I'd do."

The two girls smiled, before Kirito glanced at Eugeo, who was kissing Tiese on the lips.

(linebreak - earlier at the same time)

With Eugeo, as Kirito talked with Liena and Ronye, the young blonde and Tiese were caught in their own little world.

The redhead spoke softly as she burried her face into Eugeo's chest, "I thought I'd never see you again."

Eugeo smiled, "Well, things happened..."

Tiese nodded, "And you're a knight now, an Integrity Knight."

The blue knight nodded, "Yeah... Well, at least that means my position is more than enough to match yours, right?"

Tiese blushed, "E-eh?"

Eugeo smiled, "You remember what you told me when Alice took us away?"

The girl felt her cheeks heating up further, but nodded regardless, "Y-yes..."

The blonde nodded, "Would it be too late if I said yes now?"

If Tiese's face could get any redder, it definitely would have at this point.

The girl stared at the blonde in the eye, nervousness very much evident on her face, "R-really?!"

Eugeo nodded, "Of course."

Tiese beamed, before she blushed again, "Umm, can we, you know, kiss?"

The blonde knight blinked, before he chuckled, "Of course."

Then he proceeded to do just that, catching the redhead by surprise, before Tiese slowly melted into the kiss, and they stayed in that position for a short while.

(linebreak-now)

The supposedly romantic moment quickly ended, as Kirito spoke up, amusement evident in his voice, "Hey bro, you done kissing your new girlfriend yet?"

The pair quickly realised that they weren't alone in the room and quickly separated, their faces as red as Tiese's hair.

Eugeo blushed, glaring at the other knight in the room, "Staying silent doesn't mean you're mute, Kirito."

Kirito merely grinned, and Ronye smiled at her friend, "Good for you, Tiese."

The redhead stammered, "Umm, that's... Umm..."

Liena smiled, "Well, let's stop teasing her about this, we should probably get going, I doubt Miss Azurica would prefer us using her room for so long."

Everyone nodded, before Eugeo spoke up, "Yeah, before that, I suggest Kirito and I get changed first."

The three girls glanced at the two knights, and quickly understood. If the girls were seen walking and talking casually with two Integrity Knights, it'd raise a lot of questions and suspicion, especially considering they were nobles as well.

They nodded, and Liena said as she opened the door, "Got it, oh, and they put your stuff back in your apartment, so your clothes should still be there."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, following the three girls out of the room, doing their best to ignore the stares they were receiving.

(linebreak)

Meanwhile, with Alice, the blonde knight was on a balcony overlooking the entrance of the academy with Azurica.

The academy instructor spoke up, "Lady Knight, if I may, what happened to have Kirito and Eugeo instated as Integrity Knights?"

Alice glanced at the woman, knowing that the woman in front of her knew more about the church than the norm, and answered carefully, "Their actions were judged to be reasonable, and our knight commander deemed them worthy to join our ranks."

Azurica nodded, "I see..."

The woman then asked, "By the way, I remember Kirito and Eugeo wanted to go to the cathedral to look for one person, would that be you?"

The thirtieth Integrity Knight blinked, "Yes, how did you know?"

Azurica smiled, "Teaching those two have taught me a lot of things, and they happened to tell me their reasons for joining the academy."

Alice nodded slowly, "I see."

The instructor studied the knight's face, before she commented, "Forgive me if I am speaking out of line, but is there anything troubling you?"

The knight blinked, "W-what?"

Azurica paused, contemplating if she should pry, before she nodded, "You seem troubled, if only a bit."

Alice closed her eyes, "It's nothing."

The instructor nodded, "I see. If there's nothing else, may I excuse myself?"

Alice glanced at her, before giving the woman a nod, allowing her to leave, leaving the knight alone, watching the students in the academy compounds.

After a short while, the blonde knight turned and left, heading to look for Kirito and Eugeo.

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, Kirito and Eugeo had changed into more simpler clothes, the same ones they had worn when they left Rulid.

Now, the brothers were with Liena, Ronye and Tiese, strolling along the streets.

As they walked, Liena spoke up, "Hey, Kirito, can we talk in private?"

The knight glanced at the woman and nodded, "Sure, of course."

Liena smiled and looked at Tiese and Eugeo, "Sorry, this will just take a while."

Tiese nodded with a knowing look, and Ronye followed the two to a more quiet area.

Kirito noticed Ronye with them and asked confusedly, "I thought we were gonna talk alone?"

Liena nodded, "Yep, and this concerns her too."

The knight glanced between the two young women and nodded, "Okay, so what did you wanna talk about?"

Ronye spoke up, albeit a bit nervously, "Umm, Kirito-senpai, you remember what I told you before you left, right?"

The man nodded, having a slight idea where this was going, and he was getting nervous, "Y-yeah?"

The taller brunette saw his face, and managed to resist the urge to laugh, "Ronye and I talked about it, and I want to be fair, Kirito."

Kirito nodded, before he asked, "Okay, but what does that mean?"

Liena smiled, "You'll date the both of us for the next few weeks, and then you'll choose."

The man blinked, he blinked again, "What?"

Ronye looked at her former mentor in the eye, "Kirito-senpai, we both like you, and I... We don't want to regret anything."

Kirito stared at his former Valet, before looking at his former mentor, "Are you sure?"

Liena nodded, something mirrored by Ronye.

The knight let out a breath, scratching the back of his head, "Alright..."

Liena and Ronye both smiled, before they glanced at each other determinedly.

Kirito shook his head exasperatedly, before he spoke, "Alright, let's go. Eugeo and Tiese are waiting."

The two girls nodded, the tension between them lightening up almost immediately, something Kirito didn't bother to question for the sake of his sanity.

The three then walked back to meet up with Tiese and Eugeo, before they spotted Alice walking to them, her presence garnering attention from all around her.

Eugeo smiled forcefully, "Hey, Alice, you think you should put your armor away?"

The blonde blinked, before she noticed the stares and whispers around them, nothing she wasn't used to, but she still nodded, "Of course."

In the blink of an eye, her armor vanished, revealing Alice in a normal blouse.

Kirito blinked, "Woah, how did you?"

Alice smiled proudly, "When you study sacred arts for your entire life, changing your clothes is but child's play."

The two young men nodded, while the three other girls just decided that it was an Integrity Knight thing.

Before they could continue however, they were interrupted by a loud growl.

Everyone glanced at Kirito, and he chuckled shamelessly, "I didn't eat breakfast... much."

Liena, Alice and Ronye all sighed at the same time, "Let's get lunch then."

The three girls looked at each other, before they laughed. Alice smiled, "I have a feeling we're gonna get along just fine."

Liena and Ronye both smiled, forgetting the fact that Alice was an Integrity Knight.

(linebreak)

A short moment later, the group were having lunch at a nearby restaurant, more importantly, with Yuuki and everyone else.

As they ate, Tecchi exclaimed, "Seriously, of all things, the two of you became Integrity Knights. How is that even possible?!"

Nori chuckled, taking a bite of her food, "You forget that word doesn't apply to Kirito and Eugeo."

Siune nodded, glancing at Alice, "But to be honest, I never thought we'd be eating lunch with an Integrity Knight..."

Alice smiled slightly, "Please treat as you would a normal person, I'm not here as an Integrity Knight, just following Kirito and Eugeo to visit their friends."

Sumeragi smirked, "Of course, still cannot believe how the two of them will fit in with your knights."

The thirtieth Integrity Knight smiled, "Oh they're fitting in pretty well."

Talken spoke up, albeit a bit nervously, "Umm, if its okay, can you tell us why they could become Integrity Knights? I thought you were all created by the goddess Quinella."

Alice's smile dropped a bit, "The part about us knights is classified, but about Kirito and Eugeo, let's just say our knight commander saw potential in them and decided to convince Lady Quinella to knight them."

The people all nodded in understanding.

Kirito grinned, "Well, we're just awesome like that."

Eugeo smiled and nodded in agreement.

Alice huffed playfully, "More like the commander took pity on your cases and decided it'd be a waste of space to put you in prison."

Everyone laughed as Kirito and Eugeo both deadpanned at her, who just smiled innocently.

After that, the whole group continued their lunch, catching up with Kirito and Eugeo most of the time.

(linebreak)

After lunch, Alice, Kirito and Eugeo were planning to leave Centoria to visit the village of Rulid.

Now, as the trio of knights, along with the group, were heading back to the academy to retrieve their dragons.

As they walked, Alice thought about what Nero had told her. She admitted it, she loved Kirito, and she wanted him. At the same time, she didn't want to hurt Liena or Ronye, not after actually meeting them.

The girl glanced at the two girls again, and she made her decision.

As they entered the academy compound, Alice spoke up, "Hey, Kirito, do you mind if Liena, Ronye and I talk, in private?"

Kirito glanced at the blonde knight before looking at Liena and Ronye, "Umm, sure, why not, if you two are okay with it?"

Liena and Ronye glanced at each other, before the former shrugged, "Sure."

Alice nodded, "This'll only take a minute."

The female knight looked at Liena and Ronye, "Is there an empty room available?"

The youngest swordswoman nodded, "Yes, follow me."

The two older women followed the shorter brunette, until they reached a small room.

Liena glanced at Alice, "So, Lady Alice, what did you want to talk about?"

Alice smiled softly, "Please, just call me Alice."

The two brunettes nodded, before the blonde spoke again, looking out the window at the trees surrounding the academy, "I want to talk about Kirito."

Liena raised an eyebrow, "What about him? He's not in trouble, right?"

Alice chuckled softly, "Nothing like that. The two of you, you like him, right?"

The question caught them off guard slightly, but they both nodded, albeit Ronye slower than Liena.

After a short silence, Ronye asked, "Yes, why, may I ask?"

The next words that came out of Alice's mouth surprised the two girls.

"Because I love him too."

Alice looked at the two girls, her mask of the thirtieth Integrity Knight instantly coming up, perfectly masking the nervousness she was feeling.

Ronye looked at the blonde knight, unsure what to say, and also scared that she might offend the Integrity Knight.

Liena, on the other hand, merely looked at Alice with indifference, "And? You're not gonna use your authority to order us to stay away from him, are you?"

Alice blinked, before she smiled, shaking her head, "No, he cares for the two of you a lot, I can't do that."

The knight took a breath, "Kirito is an Integrity Knight, and there isn't a rule that forbids him from having multiple lovers."

Ronye blinked, before she said slowly, "So... You're telling us...that you want us to share Kirito-senpai?"

Alice nodded, "Yes, its ridiculous, but its an option."

Liena stared at the knight blankly, before she sighed, "That's... something I need to think about..."

The taller brunette looked at Ronye, "What do you think about this?"

The youngest girl of the three blushed slightly, "Umm, I don't think its a bad idea... I mean, no one will get left out like this, right?"

Liena considered the idea again, "True... But, Alice, are you sure you want to share Kirito, with us?"

Alice nodded, "Yes, I wouldn't have brought it up if I wasn't."

Ronye glanced between the two older girls and said softly, "If you two are okay with it, I don't mind trying..."

The taller brunette furrowed her brows, "This is a lot to take in... I need to think it over."

The Integrity Knight nodded, "I understand, I'll come back here in a week, is that fine?"

Liena nodded, glancing at Ronye, "That's fine with you, right?"

The shorter brunette smiled softly and nodded, "Take your time, Liena-senpai."

Liena nodded, and Alice looked at them, "Alright, we should get back."

The two girls nodded, and they followed the Integrity Knight out of the room, to the small grasslands where Amayori, Kurogane and Aogiri were patiently waiting.

Upon seeing the dragons, Nori snapped her heads at Kirito and Eugeo, "You have dragons?!"

Eugeo smiled, "Yep."

Kirito grinned, nodding, "All Integrity Knights have one."

Liena glanced at Kurogane, the dragon staring at her and Ronye, before approaching the both of them.

The two brunettes glanced at Kirito, who only nodded, and they both reached out to the dragon.

Kurogane stared at their palms passively, before he gently nuzzled his snout into their palms, letting a small grunt.

Aogiri on the other hand, stared at Tiese, and blew a stream of smoke from her nostrils, colouring the redhead's face with black.

Eugeo chuckled at the Tiese's dumbfounded face, something shared by the dragon and everyone else.

Alice smiled as the others swarmed around Kurogane and Aogiri, and Amayori nuzzled it's face into the blonde's side.

The knight smiled, petting her partner's head, "Let them be, it's not everyday people get to see dragons up close."

After a short while, Kirito, Eugeo and Alice mounted their dragons.

Kirito looked at Liena and Ronye, smiling, "I'll be back in a few days."

Liena and Ronye nodded, and Alice gave the two brunettes a knowing nod.

As for Eugeo, the blonde smiled at Tiese, "Don't worry, we'll be back before you know it."

The redhead smiled, "You better..."

Eugeo merely smiled again, before the three knights took flight, leaving everyone else on the plains.

As the three knights ascended into the air, Kirito looked down at his friends again, before he looked at Alice and Eugeo, "Alright, now to Rulid, right?"

The two blondes nodded, and they shot towards the village.

(linebreak)

After a short flight, the three childhood friends reached the village.

The three shared a nod, and they landed right in the middle of the village square, immediately gaining the attention of all the villagers.

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and gathered around the three Integrity Knights.

In less than a minute, Gasupht arrived, and he immediately spoke out respectively, "Lord Knights, may I ask what brings you here?"

Thanks to the size of the dragons, the villagers couldn't really see the knights' faces, and they were all surprised to hear a very familiar voice as the knights jumped down, "Hey, old man."

The chief gaped, speechless as he took in the sight of the three knights in front of him.

Alice let out a small smile, "Its been a long time, daddy, mommy."

Sadina was the first to recover from her shock, and she spoke, "A-Alice, Kirito, Eugeo?! Y-you're Integrity Knights?"

The blonde nodded, "Yes, many things happened, and Kirito, Eugeo and I are all Integrity Knights."

Selka walked to stand in front of the three Integrity Knights, silent.

Then, the young girl embraced the three knights, holding them in a tight hug.

Alice's eyes softened, and she looked up at everyone else, her persona as an Integraty Knight coming up, "There's nothing important that concerns all of you, we're just here to visit. Return to whatever you were doing if you wish."

The villagers would've been surprised by her rather serious tone, very different from what the villagers remembered, at least, the ones that knew her from her childhood, but the sight of the three Integrity Knights being held by a much smaller girl had helped them get over their shock.

Slowly, the villagers returned to their positions, leaving Gasupht, Sadina and Selka with the three knights.

Gasupht stared at the three, not really knowing what to say.

Sadina, on the other hand, merely smiled, "Come, let's talk more at home, okay?"

Alice looked at her mother, and she nodded with a smile, caressing Selka's head who still had the three of them in a hug, "Of course."

(linebreak)

After letting the dragons leave to do their own thing, Kirito, Eugeo and Alice followed Gasupht back to their house.

Upon entering the house, the three discarded their armor, placing them by the walls as they sat down, just as they would many years ago.

Selka and Gasupht sat down opposite of the three knights, while Sadina headed to the kitchen, "I'll go get some snacks, kay?"

No one objected, and Selka spoke up, "So, you're all Integrity Knights?"

Kirito grinned, "Yep, you know we went to Centoria for the academy, right? One thing led to another, and we're all Integrity Knights now."

Gasupht sighed, "I see... That's quite a bit to take in."

Eugeo smiled, "Please, we aren't any different from when we were kids."

Alice nodded, "Yep."

The elder man let out a breath, "So, what happened after that day?"

Gasupht looked at his long lost daughter at that question, right as Sadina came back into the living room with a tray of cookies.

Alice nodded, "After I was taken to the cathedral, the knight commander, Bercouli Synthesis One, found me, and decided to take me under his wing. So for the past few years, I've been serving as an Integrity Knight, but I just didn't have the chance to visit, until Kirito and Eugeo attended the academy. "

Gasupht nodded slowly, taking in the information.

Sadina on the other hand, merely smiled, "Then we owe the Integrity Knight Commander a huge debt now, don't we?"

Gasupht nodded, "Yeah, if he didn't take Alice in..."

Alice smiled, "Well, the commander won't probably care much."

Selka spoke up, "So, will you be going away again?"

Eugeo smiled softly and nodded, "Yeah, we still have our duties after all. But we'll definitely come back to visit again."

Kirito grinned, "Hey, who knows, we might just get assigned to guard the border near the icy caves nearby."

Gasupht considered the idea, before he shook his head, "No, I think its better if you were all assigned to better posts. It wouldn't do you any good if we tied you down here after all."

Sadina chuckled as she took a bite from a cookie, "Well, I think its better for them to do what they want, regardless of what they are. Besides, we have no authority over them anymore."

The three knights just smiled lightly at that, not commenting on her statement.

The woman then asked again, "So, will you be staying for dinner?"

(linebreak)

After chatting with Alice's family, bringing Selka on a ride on Amayori, Kurogane and Aogiri, visiting the icy cave with Selka, walking around the village, and having dinner with Alice's family, the three knights returned to the Cathedral.

As they landed on the platform, Kirito spotted Emiya waiting for them.

The white haired man glanced at the three with acknowledgement, before he spoke, "Good, you're back. Everyone's waiting for you."

Alice raised an eyebrow, "Did something happen?"

Emiya nodded, "Yeah, and Lady Quinella and Lady Cardinal are about to announce it, we're just waiting for you three to come back."

Kirito nodded, "Got it, let's go then."

Eugeo nodded in agreement, something shared by Alice as well.

The three quickly dismounted their dragons, allowing them to return to their den, before following the white haired archer to the training hall.

Upon entering the training area, Kirito quickly noticed that all the Integrity Knights were gathered, waiting for them, while Quinella and Cardinal were standing in front of them.

The silver haired goddess quickly noticed the four entering the hall, something shared by most of the other knights.

Cardinal nodded, right as Kirito, Eugeo, Alice and Emiya went to stand in front of them, "Good, everyone's here."

The aspect of wisdom looked at her sister, and they shared a nod, before Quinella spoke, "As of two hours ago, Cardinal and I detected two pulses of energy."

The aspect of life and creation's gaze turned serious, focusing on Kirito as she spoke her next words, "The Dark God Vector has awakened, and the path to the sister world to our own, the Elemental Nations, is now open."

XXX

DONE. So that is the 72th chapter. We are now officially entering the final stages of the Underworld arc, and by extension, the last part of the story.

Although I say the final part of it, it will probably still be a while until the story ends, so look forward to the next chapters.

So yeah, review please, and I'll see y'all next time.


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